Memory
by squallwis04
Summary: A normal student is sent into the future where, surprisingly, men and women are mortal enemies! A mission to uncover a mysterious agenda and restore the human race back to what it once was. Please R&R.
1. Prologue: The Present is Past

**_DISCLAIMER_**: First things first. **I DO NOT OWN VANDREAD**, any of its characters, etc.! They are not mine; they are property of GONZO and their respective owners. So don't sue! Jai Akira is my own character, though, and does belong to me! This plot is also my own, spawn of my unbridled, albeit quite unimaginative, imagination. Any resemblance of any name to any person, living or otherwise, is purely coincidental.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES aka RANDOM RAMBLING:**

Fic started: April 13, 2004 (during the closing minutes...^_^)

This is my second fanfic and third piece of fiction...I like to keep records.

Something I've got on my mind for sometime now...but I've been too busy to begin earlier. I FINALLY got this up. This is gonna be slightly AU (actually, same universe, but different chains of events), so there might (no, wait...there ARE going to) be some inconsistencies with the manga and the anime. Also maybe some OOC-ness, though I try to keep it at a minimum...but that's how it's going to be, people.

Basically, it's the Vandread story (the original of which is NOT MINE) with more than several tweaks to it...many of the dates/details/etc. here, I try to make them as "possible" as...possible. For example, I figure that it would take more than several centuries for the beliefs of the persons in the story to be such, as well as the development of men, women and the Earth. Again, there are a LOT (emphasis on LOT as in many, several, etc.) of major inconsistencies with the manga and anime. But it's what fits the story...or maybe I'm just being paranoid and too serious about things...and that's the way (uh huh, uh huh) I like it!  

Thanks to all the writers over at fanfiction.com, especially those in the Anime, Game, Cartoon and Book sections, for all the great fics. You guys & girls rock! My gratitude also to those in fictionpress.com...you guys & girls also rock! To authors in both, you doubly rock! ^_^

And thanks to you, dear reader! Yeah, you, for reading this. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Oh yeah, please review, if possible. I mean constructive criticism and non-degrading, non-mortifying comments, that is. Well, if you just HATE the fic, then don't continue reading! It's that simple! You don't have to blab about 'how the story sucks' or something. Well, you can write flames, but you'd just be wasting your time and effort, you can be sure of that. So please. If you don't like this, then just go and write something you do like ^_^. Everyone has the potential to come up with a great story.

Here goes...enjoy!

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**PROLOGUE**

The Present is Past

Jai Akira sighed inwardly. After spending the entire the morning and most of the afternoon at the hospital for daily internship as part of his last year of medicine school, he was just about ready to call it a day. It wasn't easy being an intern, taking care of patients in addition to studying for the upcoming board exams, but he always found time to engage in various hobbies, which included a lot of martial arts, anime, painting, reading classical fiction, writing, and playing tunes on his beloved guitar and piano, among others. Of course, studies weren't a walk in the park, but they were extremely interesting and enjoyable, which helped a lot in making them that much easier to understand and gave him that much more "free time". Despite being an almost full-fledged doctor, not to mention a 23-year old adult, he was still quite a kid at heart.

Picking up his rather large shoulder-strap schoolbag and the black guitar jacket that encased his wooden Yamaha 6-steel-string, he made his way out of the medical building to the nearby parking lot where his bike, a sleek Raleigh Aviator slightly modified to accommodate his usual baggage, was parked. His black, short, straight hair was blown roughly by the strong winds, but a flick of his hand saw to its neatness soon enough.

With very little doubt, or perhaps none at all, he felt that this day was one to be remembered. Saturday, December 13, 2003. A lot of things had happened during the day, and he now had to return several documentary CD's to the university and pick up some supplies at the pharmacy.

How little he knew the true significance the date would soon be to him...

_'A student's job is never done...'_ he thought to himself, as he put on his earphones and popped J.S. Bach into the CD player. Soothing music soon filled his ears and calmed him a bit. He wiped his glasses and, taking a look at his watch, gave a start. "6:27! And the university closes at 6:30 sharp on Saturdays! Ah, well...maybe on Monday..." he exhaled, finally deciding to leave the particular task for another time.

The pharmacy, however, was open 24 hours, so that was his first and only stop before home. Soon, he had loaded his now-full bag with various medicines and other supplies he would need for the next week.

It was a quarter to seven. Now he was on the way up the hill that led to his house, a quaint two-storey concrete and brick residence that overlooked the nearby bay. Stopping for a moment at a roadside cliff to catch his breath, he had just looked up in time to see the sun sink below the horizon. A beautiful sight, even he would have to admit, and something that he would always love about the world. Even after all this time, after countless other opportunities he took to marvel the sight, it never ceased to hold him temporarily awestruck.

The place was quiet, serene. At that moment, everything seemed perfect...

_'I feel as if I could die happy right now...'_ he thought wistfully.

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind when a small, faint light appeared right in front of him, just beyond the cliff.

"Hey? What's this...?" he wondered, adjusting his eyeglasses and straining to see what the mysterious radiance was.

In an instant, the brightness spread, until everything else vanished from sight. A gentle white glow was all that was visible around him. 

"Huh?" Jai felt a wave of panic quickly rising in him. "Hey, I didn't really mean that, you know...!" He called out to the powers that be, though silently praying to them as well that he would be safe.

Then he became aware of a shrill buzzing somewhere far upwards. Looking in the direction, however, he saw nothing. 

The brightness was steadily growing more intense, to the point where his eyes began to hurt. Squeezing them shut did little to block out the painful luminosity. His head began to feel light, and his body was becoming surprisingly heavy. 

_'What the heck is happening to me...?'_

He felt himself wobble on the bike for a few fleeting seconds before finally slipping into unconsciousness.


	2. Somewhere

**A/N**: Rather obscure prologue at most, but it sets the stage. Yeah...VERY different, yet similar, storyline this is...which is why this is a fanfic. Don't get confused. But I try to keep the characters intact...I try...but y'know...

Here's the next (first) chapter, finally. Hope you enjoy! Please remember to R&R!!!

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**CHAPTER 1**

Somewhere

"...and this reconnaissance mission will be one of the most important in our campaign against the cruel and arrogant Mejale. We on this planet Tarak will never give up..."

The booming broadcast echoed even in the busy spaceport area, even as soldiers, mechanics and maintenance personnel rushed to and fro, getting the new paeksis-powered ship "Ikazuchi" ready for the announced mission.

One figure mowed and edged his way among the sea of people, moving towards the mission-ready warship, carrying a sack of his belongings on his shoulder. He wasn't really hard to notice, his orange shirt stood out among the dull khaki of the soldiers and the dark hues of majority of the maintenance, but those he passed seemed to ignore him, almost to the point of overtly scorning or avoiding him.

But he didn't seem to care. For now, there was only one thing on his mind, running over and over.

_'I'll show them...I'll show them all...' _

He was stopped by a guard upon reaching the ship entrance. "Identification...!" It was more of an order than anything, harsh and straight to the point.

He flicked out an ID card. "Tokai, Hibiki." He stated proudly.

The burly grunt uncharacteristically gave a sneer. "Oh yeah, the little punk..." Clearly, he was quite popular among the folk.

"Hey, you watch who you're calling a punk!" Hibiki retorted angrily, finally losing his patience.

"You shut up, PUNK! Or maybe you'd better scram out of here! I personally don't mind leaving one crazy ass behind!"

Hibiki backed down and gave an audible sigh. It had taken all of his willpower to get this far without having to punch someone in the face, and he wasn't about to lose to his temper now, not at a time like this.

"Alright, I'm getting on." He gnarled faintly.

"That's a good, obedient PUNK! Now get in there, out of my sight before I change my mind!"

_'Stupid oaf...'_ he thought bitterly as he walked inside the vessel and headed straight to the mechanics' quarters. Tired as he already was, he soon slumped on the hard cot and let sleep take over.

Tarak was a planet that was inhabited entirely by men only. They considered the women, on the planet Mejale, a vile race, dangerous beings who would sooner stab you in the back and eat your liver than listen to good reason.

Since he was a child, Hibiki Tokai had always dreamed of becoming a pilot and battling the "evil Mejale". He even had some nightmares of what they might look like, but he kept them to himself, for fear of being ridiculed because of "cowardliness". It was his greatest ambition to be a hero and to make his grandpa proud, but all he was now was a lowly third-class citizen mechanic, as well as one of the most detested and ridiculed for his attitude of "acting all tough but not having any real strength".

He vowed retribution. He could prove to them. He would show them. The time was drawing near...

On this very ship was his very own Vanguard, one he had built mostly by himself, which was why he so badly wanted to go along. Vanguards were huge humanoid-shaped, piloted robots, the main fighting utility of the Taraks. They would be placed, several at a time, into voyaging warships and deployed when an enemy was encountered. In case of a Mejale attack, he planned to take his own Vanguard and deal with them himself.

That was his moment, his shining glory. All would know just how powerful he was.

Until recently, the main energy source used was an extremely stable method of nuclear fusion, but the discovery of a substance called "paeksis pramga" not too long ago on some obscure planet had rendered the former procedures inefficient by far in comparison. Only a small amount was ever found, though, but the results proved most promising, even for such a minute quantity. The biggest drawback of paeksis was that it was far from stable; only about half of its properties and energy could be understood and utilized. At times, it would go haywire for absolutely no reason, causing an overload; sometimes it would simply shut down, leaving even the head researchers in the dark. Nonetheless, the scientists decided to use it for this mission, perhaps hoping to get a better understanding of it somehow.

But now was not the time for useless things that didn't concern him anyway. He had more important things to take care of...

------------------

Jai could feel himself slowly regaining consciousness, awakening from a dreadful slumber. Even as he began to recover awareness of his surroundings, his mind was already flooding with questions. His acute memory hadn't failed him.

_'Where am I...? Last thing I remember...a white blinding light...is this heaven...? Am I dead...?'_

He soon found that he was quite alive, as the throbbing in his head gradually returned. His limbs were shaking and his breathing was labored. Whatever happened to him surely caused a strain on his corporeal state.

_'Then...what is this place...?'_

Dazed as he was, he had the presence of mind to look around. The surrounding area appeared to be some kind of laboratory, the likes of which he had only seen in science fiction movies. He was prone, laying down in what he assumed was an operating table; it definitely looked like those he had worked on in the hospital ER during surgery.

Just then, a door to his far left whooshed open, and he turned his head to see who would enter. Two people stepped in, both wearing white lab coats; scientists, no doubt. But just who exactly were they? What did they want with him?

"Well, it looks like he's awake..." a large, masculine voice broke the silence. He spoke fluent English.

"It shouldn't be too long until he's ready..." a woman's voice now echoed in the small room, "Though this should be kept secret from the Earth intelligence. There's no telling what could happen if..."

"I know," the man answered, his voice solemn, "but this is probably the only way..."

Turning to the laying figure, he spoke again, "You. You can understand me, correct?"

Jai's voice came out raspy, but he managed to talk. "Yeah...but who...are you...people...?"

"In due time, my dear fellow...in due time, you will know everything, when you are ready. Our situation now...and why you have been brought here."

"Well...it had better be...a good reason..."

"It might not have been the best solution..." the lady now said, moving closer to him, "but we believe that there is no other way. We're sorry for the rather makeshift quarters, it's the best we have right now."

It was then that he noticed. Seeing their faces for the first time since they entered made him pale considerably. The man looked to be in his 60's, but the woman seemed less than thirty. They had human features, but more than half of their bodies were metallic...robotic. They seemed human, yet...something else...at the same time.

"You are...machines...?"

"That is...not entirely true..." she answered, her voice cracking somewhat, "But all will be explained soon. For now, you just get some rest." She hid her worry behind a genuine smile.

_'I sure hope so...'_ Jai thought as his weary brain fell into another deep sleep.

It was several minutes before anyone uttered a word, and it was the woman who broke the silence. "Are we really sure about this?"

"His vital signs are normalizing now...it shouldn't be about another five hours of rest at least, before he could be...informed...of things." The man said as if to answer her question, at the same time monitoring several screens at a nearby terminal.

"He is so young...! How...how about the relics...the records? Is there no other way anyone could convince the people?"

He sighed. "I only wish I knew if there even was...something easier that this. But in any case, this must be done. The 'memory' of what life was once like...hidden deep within the Earth's database..."

"...so secret and so much more closely guarded, not even the best hackers can get it fully out..."

"For many years, we all have fought the Earth system together...even if it was in shadow; underground and undercover...you know that. Some...no, most of us had to give our lives for even that glimpse at the 'memory'. But this is something that we just could not keep to ourselves. This will be our last contribution to what is left of mankind, to what we used to be..."

"And you think that he is going to help us?" she asked softly, motioning to Jai, who was still fast asleep. She noticed that the 'memory' was affecting her in ways that were difficult to explain, as she looked at the sleeping form as if it was her own 'little brother'.

"Only he could do it, and for three good reasons. First, he knows the past much better than we do...that glimpse at the 'memory' was but a glimpse, and nothing more. We know only so much. Second, his natural physical form would suit the task of interacting with those on Tarak and Mejale, compared to our modified ones. Lastly, I am sure that once he is informed of what has happened to the human race as of these past few hundred years, as well as the Earth's plans of 'harvesting', he would do everything in his power to help prevent the demise of both the men and women, stubborn as they might be."

"The harvest...! How horrible...! Are they really going to push through with that?"

"It's more than likely. With organic resources running lower and lower, it seems more inevitable each day. Now you can see how important this is."

"Y...yes..."

Silence once again filled the room. An hour passed...two...three...four...until the seventh hour struck. But the two remained motionless, statues set into place. Being only half-human, half-organic, fatigue was something that they didn't have to worry about. They didn't require any food or water, or even air for that matter; that side of their humanity was gone forever, a fact they had come to accept many decades ago. What did remain were their rationality, their will and their emotions, those which have defined humans as being 'human'. They considered themselves very fortunate; most of their other colleagues had lost everything to the machines, the system entity of the new Earth, and had become no more than drones, unfeeling and without real consciousness. The others were worse than dead, in a sense.

The fate of mankind, the true nature of the species, rested upon their shoulders. They were armed with the knowledge, and the opportunity. They had to take it, lest it slip suddenly from their hands at the last minute. They knew they had to act, and as soon as possible. They could not let the corrupted Earth win.

They were onboard a ship they were able to steal from the Earth fleet some years ago, and were a good distance from the planet, which had now grown into a purely mechanical jungle. Gone were the diverse life-forms that once dwelled there, the life-sustaining atmosphere, and even the myriad of minerals and the layers of rock and elements. All that was left was an artificial-intelligence-governed machine. And it seemed that its program was to seek the propagation of itself and the destruction of its creator, mankind.

Eight hours had passed in complete stillness, when Jai groaned softly and once more opened his eyes, squinting even in the dim light.

"Well, it looks like you're awake..." the man commented, smiling slightly.

"Uh...you just said that...didn't you...?" Jai answered as lightheartedly. He was now feeling a lot better compared to the last time he had awoken. "Hey, didn't you two move at all...or was I out for only a short time...?"

"Eight hours, to be exact." The lady pointed out, quite like a big sister. "Feeling much better now?"

"As a matter of fact...yeah, I feel great! My head's not buzzing around too much anymore and..." he suddenly remembered the gravity of his situation. "Eh...um...now that I've gathered my wits more or less, would you mind explaining just what the heck I'm doing here?"

The man spoke. "Ah, yes...I believe it is time. Er, speaking of which, I hope it will not come as a shock to you...but let me begin with the date. Continuing the year count of your time, it is the 14th of December, 3990."

"3990...sounds like the model of a cellular phone or something..." Jai said, giving a nervous laugh. He was trying his very best not to jump up and start screaming like a madman. "You mean to say that I've been sleeping for almost two millennia; like in Rip Van Winkle, but much longer?"

The lady began to explain, though totally disregarding the allusion, which was obviously unfamiliar to her. "Actually you weren't sleeping the whole time...well, technically you were, but the passage of the time did not, in any way, affect your age at all. Whatever your condition during that time, is exactly as you are now. However, since this was the one and only time the experimental time-device has been used, we still are unsure...there might be some side-effects, adverse or otherwise, like the headache for example. But I am sure they are not really life-threatening...um, you understand...?"

"To tell the truth...yeah, I actually do...to an extent. I'm pretty...familiar...with this kind of stuff, since I'm into lots of sci-fi and all...so I can relate a bit. Just a tiny bit, though. But to have it actually happen, to find out that it is actually possible...and to ME of all the other possibilities...that's another story. It's almost literally scaring the sanity out of me."

The lady laughed. "I see you're taking this pretty well. We didn't choose you...you just happened to be at the exact spot at the exact time the device was programmed to activate. Perhaps it was luck...or fate...that you were there."

He wasn't too upset though, since he was still, in fact, very much alive and breathing. Even though he still had trouble assessing the situation, he felt somehow...comfortable with these...people.

"Eh? How about my stuff? Did it all get left behind? My fresh clothes are in there..." he even had the confidence to wisecrack a bit, a habit he exhibited whenever he was nervous.

"They're in the next room." The man was the one who answered. "If there was more time it would have been fascinating to study them. Ah, but that's another matter. On to the more important things..." his voice was now all business.

"That would be...why, right?" Jai ventured, although he already knew the answer. Then he added, "I'm guessing that Earth had gone through major technological advances, and that this very facility is somewhere fifty feet under ground, deep in the Russian mountains, in the Earth's mantle..."

"...not quite," the man replied rather flatly, "This facility is nowhere even near the Earth. We are somewhere in what Earth has called the ninth nebula, several million light years from the far edge of the Milky Way."

Jai looked incredulous. "O-kaaay...just wait a second and let me internalize that for a moment," he said, closing his eyes and tapping his forehead, "Actually, I'm still trying to process the fact that I've been...oh, say...hurtled through about two thousand years forward into the future..."

The man gave an audible sigh. "Look, instead of just telling you, I believe that we would have to show you. It would be much more effective, though this is just a tiny bit of what we would like you to understand..." He wheeled one particular device that had a helmet-like contraption attached to it closer to Jai.

"Eh...this thingy won't erase my memory or turn me to jell-o now, would it?"

"No..." the woman assured him. "This isn't experimental. It is rather old technology, in fact, designed to input data into your brain from a prerecorded source, thereby reducing the time required to comprehend things. Don't worry, it doesn't hurt one bit, though I guess you will be bombarded with questions later on..."

"Well, if you say so..." Jai nodded, taking the head covering and putting it on. "Wow...a snug fit. It's quite comfortable."

"Are you ready?" The man asked, looking straight at Jai, who nodded confidently in response.

"Let her rip, doc..."


	3. Crossed Paths

**A/N: **I'm having a rather fun time writing this fic, though I do have many other things to attend to...most especially these days when school's starting (this week actually) :-) so please bear with me if updates don't come often.

Hm...SHOUT-OUTS!!! Thanks to the following:

**anon.** - Feedback is always welcome! If you don't wanna give a name, that's all right. I don't bite, though. I'm just kind of annoying sometimes. Thanks lots! :-) I'll try to update as frequently as I can.

**Stelok** - Glad to be hearing criticism (critiques, I mean) from you. That light that Jai saw...it was supposed to be the effect somewhat of the time machine of those who brought him to the future...just a little more on that in a later chapter. Anyways, glad also you're reading the story, and I hope you're enjoying as well. :-) I hope that I can be able to live up to your expectations. :-)

**enIIgma-chan** - I'm delighted to hear that people think the story's going fine...I'm kind of playing things by ear as I go along...or something like that. Anyways, I liked your story on that Hibiki wedding. F-U-N-N-Y!!! :-) I hope to read more of your works as well. Hope you also like the continuations of this fic.

And that's that. This chapter's rather long...it's got 3 different scenarios in it...title makes it self-explanatory...ah, just read it anyway. :-) Well, enjoy!

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**CHAPTER 2**

Crossed Paths

_'Everything's so quiet...'_ Dita Liebely thought distractedly as she traversed the ship's corridors, going nowhere in particular.

Their pirate ship was currently on a course to Mejale. It had been some time since their last visit home, and some of the crew was getting more than a little homesick. Fortunately, their stern but generally good-natured leader Magno Vivan, who everyone called "Boss", agreed this time; perhaps she too missed the place.

But due to a recent increase in Tarak activity and several dangerous radioactive storms in the area, as well as a temporary and very uncharacteristic aversion for further trouble, the women had to detour from their normal (though not very usual) route. It would take an additional two months to reach Mejale, but they didn't seem to mind; the important thing was that they were finally going to take a much-needed break.

"Now that we're going home, I thought everyone would be in more cheerful spirits..." Dita said to herself, absentmindedly straying strands of long, red hair from her face. The 16-year old Dread apprentice-pilot wasn't one to sit still and keep silent for extended periods of time, and always sought companionship. Though rather bored, it was somehow relaxing knowing that there wasn't anything chasing them at the moment and that everybody else was safe. That was all she usually needed to be happy.

The ship was considerably less bustling than usual. Lethargy had finally sunk in, as well as a sense of boredom now that they had gone through more exciting ventures in the past. The prospect of returning to Mejale seemed to brighten the atmosphere a bit, but it only did so much; an air of inactivity still plagued the area.

_'I guess I'll just see how everyone else is doing...'_ Dita concluded, skipping through the vacant corridors.

She arrived at one of the rooms in the crew's quarters and, recognizing it was Jura's, knocked tentatively. A voice from inside told her to wait for a second. Soon, the door was opened and the room's owner warmly greeted her.

20-year old Jura Basil Elden was one of the senior Dread pilots. Though her rather proud attitude was somewhat of a contrast to Dita's more innocent one, the two were actually quite close friends. Save for some petty disputes on occasion, there was very little unfriendliness among the entire crew; everyone worked well with everyone else. Camaraderie and unity had gone even beyond the battlefield.

"And what brings you here today?" Jura asked when they had both stepped into the room.

"Well, actually," the younger girl fidgeted as she spoke nonstop, "I just wanted to see how everyone is doing. We're going to Mejale now, after a long time, and it's really nice to be returning after all this time. And I was wondering why everyone is still gloomy and all, even if we're going back to Mejale now..."

Her companion flicked her long, blonde hair. "Oh, Dita...always the worrier, are we? Usually I'd advise you to not bother the others and to just stop worrying, but I have to agree with you now...everyone looks just so out of energy lately."

"You see? What can we do? Will everyone just be sad until we reach Mejale? I don't want that to happen..." Dita was on the verge of tears now.

"Hey, hey, calm down..." the other laughed nervously. It wasn't easy dealing with Dita. "Here's what...since it's you asking, I'll just tell you to do what you usually do, and what you do best." She said with a wink.

"What's that?" Dita replied, clearly puzzled.

Jura sighed just a bit. "You be the one to lift their spirits. You're always spreading cheer around just by your presence, and even I have to say that you're usually successful at it."

Dita's face now brightened. "Really? You're right! Thanks!" She exclaimed, hugging the older girl. Maybe dealing with her wasn't so hard after all.

"Yeah, yeah, alright," Jura said, almost being strangled by Dita, "but I'd rather that you do not bother Meia for now...you know how cranky, not to mention annoying, she could get when she's really not in the mood."

"Yeah...leader could sometimes be really stubborn...cooped up in her room. Even I couldn't talk to her," Dita's face was beginning to wrinkle again.

"Well, Dita," Jura hastily said when she noticed, "you should be getting along now. I'm sure the others will need some cheering up. I'm alright now here."

"Yeah! I can't let them go home in bad spirits. Thanks, Jura!" Dita said as she bounded up and out the door. Her change in emotion was so fast, it was almost scary. Jura let out a relieved sigh after she had left.

_'It's up to me now...'_ Dita thought determinedly, as she walked from room to room, smiling and chattering to the other crew members. Her idea seemed to be working, as most of them did become livelier after she had talked with them.

She reached another door at the far end of the corridor, and stopped just before her fingers reached the metal coating.

Her mind argued. _'This is leader's room...Meia's room. I guess I shouldn't bother her for a while...but I can't just leave her alone and do nothing...but what if she doesn't want to be bothered...'_ After several seconds of contemplation, she decided and knocked firmly on the door.

"Um...leader? May I come in...?" she asked tentatively, at the same time making sure that anyone inside would be able to hear.

The door swung open to reveal the 19-year old leader of the Dread squad of the pirates. Her blue shoulder-length hair was neat, as was her sparsely-decorated room. She said nothing, but her stoic, questioning look was not unnoticed by Dita.

"Well..." she was even more nervous than when with Jura. Meia wasn't one to socialize much, though she was certainly reliable whenever needed. Smart, an efficient leader and skillful in combat and in handling a Dread, she was highly respected by the entire crew. Dita looked up to her all the more.

"...well, I was just trying to get everyone's spirits up since the whole place is so gloomy and all, and, well, maybe if you don't want to talk to anyone right now, I'll understand, and..." Dita was talking even faster, closing her eyes just in case something nasty was going to happen.

She was interrupted by Meia's voice, firm, yet reassuring at the same time. "No need to get so upset, Dita."

The younger girl slowly opened her eyes. Relief flooded in when she saw Meia's slightly smiling face.

"It's so like you...I was sort of expecting you'd do something like this. I'll bet Jura put you up to it, am I right?"

"Well, yes..." Dita laughed a bit, now her usual, bubbly self.

"Although I don't find it so surprising that everyone's so lethargic...it's been some time since anything exciting has happened around here. Maybe they're just saving up their energy for when we get to Mejale."

"Yeah...that's what most of them told me. It has been some time since something big happened...but still..."

"...you can't leave things as they are." Meia finished for her. "Like I said, that's so like you. Well, I can't stop you from doing what you want to, especially when you're not doing anything wrong. I'm fine here, though. Good luck..." she said as she stepped back inside and closed the door.

_'That went well...'_ Dita thought, now feeling less worried, _'...now to continue my duty of cheering up the depressed...or bored.'_

She found Barnette Orangello, another Dread pilot, and Gascogne Rheingau, the ship's weapons and supplies officer, at the mess hall, absorbed in a game of cards.

_'Well, at least there are places where it's less sad...'_ Dita thought, quickly motioning 'hi' to them before moving on.

Passing by the ship's engine room, she saw Parfet Balblair, the chief engineer, busy tinkering with the machinery.

"Yep...hmmmm...everything fine...oh, hi Dita!" She said as she noticed the redhead. "What brings you here?"

"Just seeing if everyone's doing alright," she replied cheerfully.

Parfet laughed and adjusted her round glasses. "The usual, I see. Well, I'm doing great here! Not a single hint of malfunction in our engines. At this rate, we'll be at Mejale faster than it takes an atom to split!"

"Er...yeah..." Dita wasn't all that good with brainy stuff, and agreed that there was no further problem here.

Walking on, she reached the ship's sick bay. Paiway Underburg, the 11-year old nurse, was, rather uncharacteristically, busy arranging the supply of medicines in a cabinet.

"Hello, Pai!" Dita chimed, startling the young nurse.

"I'm at it! I'm at it! I'm..." she stammered, working even faster, venturing a look at the door in the process. She seemed rather relieved that it was Dita at the door. "Oh, it's you, Dita. I though it was Gasco again. She keeps pestering me to fix up here..."

"And now you're hard at work, I see. So that's why you're not running around taking pictures and 'Pai check'-ing anyone."

"Yeah, yeah. Once I'm done here, that Gasco can't get at me anymore. How about you? What're you up and about for?"

"Oh, just checking if everyone's doing fine..."

Pai shrugged. "You do that all the time. Anyway, I want to finish this quickly so I'll have more time for myself later."

"Yeah, I guess. See 'ya!" Dita called back as she began walking away.

Her last stop was the control room. It was there she found the Boss Magno Vivan, the sub-commander Buzam Calessa (or B.C.), the ship's main bridge crew and Dita's closest friend Ezra Vieil, and the three ship operators Amarone Slaintheav, Balvedere Coco, and Celtic Midori. Everyone was seated and quiet, almost as if they were all sleeping, and Celtic was wearing her usual 'anti-Tarak' teddy-bear suit, which Dita gave a small snicker at.

She had not gone three steps inside when a loud beeping sounded from one of the control panels. Everyone jumped up from their positions, including Dita.

"What the..." B.C. began.

"Boss," Ezra shouted over the noise, "there are two ships located about 1500 kilometers from our current location."

"Two? What kind?" Magno asked.

Belvedere replied, "One of them is the new Tarak ship our technical division informed us about. It is currently moving in our direction. The other...is unidentified...and stationary at the moment."

"A new Tarak ship and an unidentified one...? What are the chances of combat?" Magno's voice was calm despite the situation.

"Rather high...the Tarak ship is armed and no doubt is carrying numerous Vanguards. The other seems to have little fighting capability," Amarone answered.

"Then...it would be a good time to get some exercise, wouldn't it, B.C.?" Boss said, a grin creeping to her face.

"I believe it would, Boss," B.C. replied similarly, before making an announcement that all pilots and engineers were to report to the bridge immediately.

"You're already here, Dita..." Magno turned and looked at the apprentice-pilot, the grin still on her face, "you will be joining this mission, understood?"

"Y...yes!" Dita answered, fully aware that this event was sure to awaken the crew from lethargy. She just hoped that the end wouldn't turn out to be anywhere near tragic.

--------------------

Their ship had arrived at the outer borders of the Mejale base. There were hundreds of enemy warships waiting; vigilant sentries.

But they didn't know what they were up against. Pitiful...they did not stand a chance...

The Ikazchi had reached the final checkpoint and did not stop. Immediately, the sentinels deployed their clusters of dreads, the small Mejale dogfighters, further outnumbering the intruders.

It would all be in vain...they shouldn't try so hard...

The Tarak ship also deployed its fighter vessels, the vanguards. One by one, they flew out and into formation. The last to be deployed was bright gold, a stark contrast to the silver coating of the others, and flew to the very front.

This was his vanguard. This was his power. This was his proof.

As if on cue, the dreads rushed forward in attack, moving systematically; very coordinated, as if controlled by only one mind.

But he was better. He could beat them all, no matter how many there were.

He pushed his vanguard forward and into the oncoming dreads. Weapons at hand, he began slashing at them, dodging laser fire all the while. Two by two they fell to his blades, which moved quickly, brutally, and without error.

Nobody can beat him. He wasn't weak...he wasn't going to lose...

It was all over in a minute. Not one single ship, not even the mighty Ikazuchi, was spared of total destruction, except for his own vanguard. Even though his companions had met the same fate as the enemy, he didn't mind. He was still alive.

He had won...through his own power. Finally, he had done it...

At that moment, a loud beeping noise blared into his ears.

Hibiki Tokai fell out of the bunk and onto the hard floor. "Ouch..." he muttered, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, as well as the sore spot where he hit his head.

_'What was with that dream...it seemed so real...wish it was true, though...'_

"Attention, all pilots. Please proceed to the hangar and prepare for vanguard launch. We have detected one Mejale ship at 1500 kilometers and approaching fast, and one other unidentified craft in the same sector. Repeat..."

He stood at once when understanding of the announcement finally dawned upon him. It was only this early, but the time had finally come! His eyes glimmered with excitement as he hurriedly scrambled out of the room...

--------------------

The man pushed a button and the machine whirred to life. Jai closed his eyes and simply trusted their words that he would indeed be fine.

At first, all was darkness. And then, after a few seconds, he saw...more like he sensed...people, places and events. Not in any particular order, but it seemed that he "knew" which came after what, though it was hard to tell what century, what exact dates, the records depicted, as there was no indication whatsoever. Mentally shrugging the notion off, he sat and witnessed as history unfolded in his brain, though there wasn't much of it. And then, after about a minute, everything went black again.

Slowly, he took the headpiece off and handed it to the man.

"So..." the man said, taking the headpiece from him, "now you understand?"

Jai looked stunned. "I'll bet one of those would help tremendously in medical class..."

He almost dropped the device.

"Heheh...sorry, couldn't resist...sorry, sorry," Jai apologized quickly, seeing the strange expressions on his companions' faces. "Seriously though, it was quite...surprising! It even bewildered my wildest expectations. I really didn't quite understand some parts of it...there was so much going on and so many things didn't make sense. But I think that basically, with the advent of such advanced technology, people have gone to faraway reaches of space, expanding territories on suitable planets. However, there was still a lot of unrest and conflicts, and several cataclysmic wars have finally brought about man's quasi-downfall. Is that...correct?"

"Well, it's a start...but there's more to..."

--CRASH--

She was interrupted by a loud noise and the sudden trembling of the ship.

"Could that be...the Earth fleet? Have they found us?!" The man shouted, panic in his voice.


	4. Unsigned Battle

**A/N: **It's been said before: All these Physical Therapy studies are HARD!!! I'm frickin' failing in Anatomy Lab, and barely passing in most others! I'm just so not a memory person...on a lighter side, though, I thoroughly enjoyed our Practical tests in PT1 and PT2, and am positive that this is what I want to do with my life. :-)

Anyways, with that out of the way, It's good I found some time to update. It's a good way to detoxify the mind. Ahem...SHOUT-OUTS!

**Rick Forrest** - Hey, I'm a perfectionist. :-) Of course I try to make everything as accurate (and precise also) as possible. Hey, I'm looking forward to your "other fic". Is it also about the Vandread world? Hope you update your story soon, but take your time and don't rush!

**chris** - Well, a very (belated) happy birthday!!! Actually, why I chose that date was because...let's just say that it was very special for me... :-) Anyways, I'm glad you think it's interesting! And you're definitely not stupid! :-) Thanks for dropping a review. I'll try to make this story even better. :-)

Well, that's that for now. This is another long chapter (or so I think), with multiple POV's. Hope it isn't all that confusing. Anyways, on with it! I've got schoolwork to do after this. Enjoy! :-)

**--------------------------------------------------**

**CHAPTER 3**

Unsigned Battle

It was as if an earthquake had hit the ship. The man staggered out of the shaking room, silently cursing himself for not being more careful.

"And that was..." Jai started, throwing a questioning look at the woman.

"No doubt, that was another ship. There isn't an asteroid field, comet path, not even a planet in some ways from here. That didn't feel like a radioactive storm either..."

"Radioactive storm...? Oh yeah, we're in space..."

She was about to say something when the ship shook even more violently, throwing them both off their feet.

"This isn't good..." the woman said, more fearful now.

"Maybe not as good, maybe not as bad..." The man was at the doorway, clinging on to one side to keep his balance. His expression was somewhat torn between terrified and ecstatic. "Good news is that there are no Earth ships. There are two, one Tarak and one Mejale. Plus the Tarak's got a pexis pragma! The bad news is that they're shooting at us! Probably thinks we're hostile or something..."

"Can't we just tell them to stop?!" Jai yelled after another rumble, not really understanding what they were talking about. This plexi...something seemed to excite the others...

"That's...our communications are down...same thing with the weapons."

"You're kidding...!" A bad feeling was beginning to well up inside him.

"It's not surprising, though. This old ship's been wandering for more than twenty years now, without any maintenance..." the woman replied. Before she could say more, an even bigger tremor rocked the ship.

"Damn! That was a big one...there's no more time! We've got to get him to the safe-pod!" The man shouted, scrambling to his feet and grabbing Jai's arm.

"Wait...you're bringing me where?" Jai was now beginning to feel sick...whether from the excitement of the moment or intense panic, he couldn't tell, though both seemed unlikely the reason.

In any case, they were being fired at...and had no way to fight back, or even communicate with whoever was shooting. The situation was hopeless, and there was nothing they could do about it. For all he knew, they were all going to die...and he hated these kinds of lose-lose situations.

He was quickly led through the ship amidst violent shaking and now several small fires which were quickly growing along the narrow walkway they passed. The room they reached was small, and inside were several objects he recognized were from his time...a few pieces of elegantly-carved wooden furniture, a number of wooden figurines, a basketball and a hoop, several books, clothes, tapes and CD's, a piano...including his own bike and all his belongings.

"Whoa...!" Jai was taken aback, even though his head was now spinning wildly. "How did all this get here...?"

"Exceedingly accurate replicas, all of them, except your own things, of course," the woman answered. "Our faction's been trying to recreate some of what we saw in the 'memory' back at Earth for sometime now. But now is not the time for this! You just stay here, where you will be safe."

Jai felt the door close behind him. He then noticed that he was the only one in the room. "Hey...! What about you guys...?!" he managed to shout, weakly pounding on the firmly-shut iron entryway.

Voices came from the nearby intercom after several tense moments. "There's no need to worry about us, you'll be out of harm's way in the safe-pod! There's something we have to do here! We hope and believe that you will understand the situation soon enough! The pexis pragma will be of immense help; just to let you know, what little we had of it was what we utilized to bring you here in the first place! Listen; if we do not get to talk again in the future, remember this: restore the human race and avoid the harvest at all costs. If you can, fight it..."

The voices were cut off by an ear-splitting sonic boom. Even in the tightly-sealed room and in his disoriented condition, Jai could feel the rest of the ship separating from his safe haven, his prison. A chill crept up his spine and his eyes grew wide as he figured what might have happened.

_'Pexis pragma? What...restore the human race? How the heck...? And what is this harvest...?'_

And then, all of a sudden, the entire place he was in gave a sharp lurch, and he was thrown back into one of the immense metallic walls. It seemed so surreal that none of the other things moved at all, he thought suddenly. The last thing he remembered was a sharp pain on the back of his head before everything began to turn into an all-too-familiar white again, then suddenly to pitch black...

--------------------

The Vanguards onboard the Ikazuchi were quickly mobilized and sent to combat the Mejale ship. The unidentifiable ship, the commander said, was to be considered a bonus and extra bounty. Besides, according to him, it might strike at them anyway...why not get it first?

When Hibiki had reached the hangar, all of the other Vanguards have already been deployed. _'Aw, man...how long have I been sleeping anyway...?' _he thought as he searched for something...

His Vanguard, which stood out in gold plating, was sitting at its corner in the hangar.

_'Alright! My buddy's still here...heheh...those jerks didn't figure out how to start it up after all...and they call themselves geniuses...' _He had rigged the Vanguard's system so that only he could start it up. One of his more brilliant (and successful) ideas, he concluded proudly.

The other technicians were busy figuring out how to get the remaining Vanguard to work, and were failing miserably. They had all but given up when Hibiki strode up to them.

"Well, look who decided to finally show up..." one of them sneered.

"Having trouble?" Hibiki quipped, not losing an ounce of confidence. They weren't going to get to him this time.

Not wanting to be outdone, they feigned ignorance. "Of course not, idiot. Well, aside from the new, top-secret experimental black-steel model, that is. What makes you say that...?"

He did not reply. Walking right past them, he climbed up the stairs to the Vanguard's open cockpit and jumped in.

"Hey! What are you doing?! It can't be started-up yet!"

"Just watch me!" Hibiki shot back, quickly pressing a sequence of buttons.

Almost immediately, the Vanguard's internal system booted up, whirring to life. The other mechanics could only look on in disbelief as the pilot's hatch closed automatically.

"Alright! That's my partner!" Hibiki yelled. A prompt flashed on the screen in front of him. 'Voice recognition complete...pilot identification confirmed.'

"Let's go!!!" He shouted once more, as he led the Vanguard onto the launching pad and out of the Ikazuchi, into battle at last.

He was not met with a pretty sight. Even this early, it was clear that the Mejale were winning, as a number of debilitated Vanguards, incapable of motion and combat but not utterly destroyed, already littered the battlefield. The unknown ship was under heavy fire from their troops, but did not seem to be retaliating.

_'Somehow, something's wrong with that ship...'_

BANG His thoughts were interrupted by a collision to his left.

A ship he certainly didn't recognize zoomed past him. It wasn't humanoid-shaped...it looked more like a conventional ship...a blue one. Without a doubt, it was one of the Mejale.

"You want to play, huh?" He muttered, voice quivering with excitement. He spotted several similar ships further ahead. "Alright...I'll take you all on! Come on!!!"

This was finally it...he was going to fight the evil. Maybe his dream was a premonition? Maybe he would indeed be able to defeat all of them single-handedly. Without a second thought, he took out one of the Vanguard's platinum twin blades and rushed forward.

They were approaching in formation...more organized than he thought. In seconds, he was assailed by blasts from their lasers. Some he was able to avoid, but a good number at least grazed his Vanguard's outer plating. They quickly dispersed, even before he could get within striking distance. They seemed to be...retreating...

Hibiki remained unfazed. "So it's like that, huh? Come back here and fight, you cowards!"

A communications link icon flashed on the control panel in front of him. One of their ships was trying to talk to him...or so it appeared.

He hesitated in opening the link. His imagination reminded him of how scary the Mejale race might look like. Until now, he hadn't actually seen one...he cautiously pressed the button, waiting anxiously at what might appear onscreen.

The screen blinked on and to his surprise, it was not the face of a monster that came into view. Instead, it was that of a being very much similar to himself...same facial features...eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hair...the hair was red and quite long. He could only see the head, as it was all the space could accommodate, but he guessed that maybe...the rest of it might be the same. "Wow...a real live alien! Hello there, Mr. Alien!" it spoke in a playful, high pitch.

Hibiki was stunned. This was certainly something much different from his expectations. "...wha..." was all he could bring himself to say. There was certainly...something...about this...creature...he was conversing with.

"We do not wish to fight you..." it began again, but he wasn't able to hear the rest, as the communication link was cut off suddenly.

"H...huh?" He snapped back to reality and shook his head to clear it up. "What was that? A Mejale trick perhaps? I'd better be more careful next time I..."

He himself was interrupted by an extremely loud sonic boom. He spun his Vanguard around and found himself facing the unknown ship. It was literally falling apart, though it was now moving...right towards the Ikazuchi!

"What the..." he began to go forward to get a better look, but stopped suddenly when he noticed an enormous ship approaching him from behind.

"...heck..." The immense ship, the command ship of the Mejale, no doubt, drifted past him in an instant. It was also headed towards the other ship. It wasn't firing at them, nor showing any other hostile action.

"...is going on...?" It was then that he noticed that the Tarak's own command ship was also set in motion...towards the other two hulking vessels. In a panic, he tried contacting the Ikazuchi.

"Ikazuchi! Do you copy! You are on a collision course! Repeat..."

There was no coherent answer. All he could hear on the other side were frantic shouting and scurrying. He realized then that perhaps they were all out of control...maybe also the Mejale ship...or the other one. How...or why...was clearly unknown. What he didn't notice was that the other Vanguards were being pushed away from the area, perhaps by the same force, and that his was unaffected by it.

His Vanguard rushed at full speed towards the large ships. Hibiki thought he saw a few other small ships headed in the same direction, but then dismissed the notion, too absorbed in what he was doing to care. He tried again to make contact. "Ikazuchi! Do you copy! Commander! Anybody! Do you..."

He never got to finish the sentence, as the three ships came in contact and an immensely bright light that strangely seemed to come from the Ikazuchi illuminated the entire area. He had to shield his eyes to keep the glare from blinding him as he was also pulled into the glare.

"Damn...what is this...? Is this the end...? It couldn't be..." He wondered out loud, now thoroughly confused.

It was only the beginning...

--------------------

In under a minute after they had detected the Tarak ship, it began to deploy its arsenal of Vanguards...whether either to them or to the other ship remained to be seen.

But they were pirates, and knew how to handle this kind of situation. Besides, they had all that extra energy from their last few weeks of boredom. It would indeed, according to their Boss, be a good time to get some exercise. The Dreads were mobilized soon enough to face the Tarak troopers before the latter could come within striking distance of the pirates' command ship.

"Jura and Squad A, flank the left. I'll take the right side with Dita and Squad B. Shoot to disable only!" Meia commanded, and they flew into position.

Being pirates, and having experienced many battles in the past, it was clear from the beginning of the skirmish that they had the upper hand. Vanguards were incapacitated in groups, and not a single Dread suffered more than a scratch.

"Now isn't this just a little too easy...?" Jura remarked offhandedly from her stylish, as she called it, crimson Dread. In truth, she was rather amazed that they had very little trouble.

"Don't get careless..." Meia was always the voice of reason, albeit a slightly cold one. Her white Dread sped across the battlefield, ready for anything that might arise. She was, as was usual, all the more wary and suspicious of things than her comrades, being the leader and all. "There's no telling what they might be up to..."

Dita weaved her blue Dread through the immobilized Vanguards, trying to establish communication with them, who she called 'aliens'. They were unconscious, she figured...since they weren't answering. It was then that she saw one other Vanguard emerge from the Tarak ship...this one looked different, as it had gold plating instead of the other silver ones. _'Maybe I could try to talk with this alien...'_ she thought, and approached it.

Meia had spotted it as well. _'Gold plating...it had been deployed later than the this be a stronger one...?' _She immediately ordered a quick, preliminary strike, just to see what this Vanguard was capable of...

It slowly made its way closer to them, though seemingly more interested in the other ship, which the other Vanguards still mercilessly shot at. The Dread leader ordered the assault, and then noticed the blue Dread of an apprentice-pilot dangerously close to their target. The pilot of the Vanguard had now also seen her, no doubt.

"Dita! Move out of the way!" Meia yelled.

"Y...yes...!" Dita complied, backing off a little.

The Dread formation moved in and stormed their lone adversary with low-powered laser blasts. Meia observed carefully. The Vanguard was able to evade some, but it was easily deducible that the pilot was not overly skilled.

The distinct beep of a communication prompt distracted her from her thoughts for a second. Opening the link, she was met with an obscure distress call from the pirate ship itself. No image was visible, but it seemed from the noise of things that something was wrong.

She tried the communications again. "Boss! What is going on...?! Ezra! Sub-commander! Amarone! Anybody...!"

Garbled words were the only reply.

Meanwhile, Dita hovered nearby the humanoid-shaped robot, still quite entranced by the prospect of actually getting to talk with one of the aliens. She had only heard stories of them, mostly from her friends back at Mejale a long time ago, and she had heard that they were a scary race. Curiosity got the better of her, and she oftentimes wondered whether all of the stories were actually true...seeing them herself was the most logical thing to do...

The strike formation suddenly stopped and pulled back. Dita saw this as more of a chance to put her own plans into action than something strange. Wasting no time, she immediately tried to open a communication link with the alien's ship. In no more than several seconds, the link was opened and a face appeared onscreen.

To say she was amazed would be an understatement. Her eyes grew wide as she realized that it was one of the 'aliens' she was actually seeing. It did not matter to her that it had the same appearance as her...what mattered was that this _was_ an 'alien'. She thought it looked rather cute, though...

"Wow...a real live alien!" she exclaimed, despite herself. "Hello there, Mr. Alien!"

It looked back at her strangely. She wondered if it understood her...she had heard that they used the same language as them...

It , but it had meaning, nonetheless...or so she thought. "...wha...?"

She wanted it to know that they weren't the 'bad guys', nor were they trying to hunt them down. "We do not wish to fight you..." she began to say.

The com-link was suddenly cut off, and the screen went blank. She stopped mid-sentence and almost jumped back in surprise. After a few seconds, it was Meia's stern face that appeared.

"All Dreads! There's something wrong with our ship!" the Dread leader spoke with urgency. There was even a tinge of...panic in it. "We can't seem to establish a connection with it. All Dreads, return at once. I repeat, return at once."

Dita looked frantically around. The alien pilot she was talking to was now further ahead. A strong worry welled inside her, and she headed straight towards the same direction.

All of a sudden, an immense sonic boom shattered the space and echoed throughout the area. It seemed to have emanated from the unknown ship.

_'Damn...what was that...? As if we needed more problems now...'_ Meia, quite far from their ship but closely monitoring it via radar, noticed it now moving...towards the source of the loud sound they just heard. The battle had brought them to the far left of their ship's location, and the distance proved daunting had something dangerous happened. Contact with the Boss was impossible, Meia now knew, so she had sent a call to all the other Dreads to return to the ship, as her own began speeding towards it. She noticed on the way that Jura and Dita were already on their way...but none of the others were visible.

"Jura!" she shouted over the communicator, "where are the rest?"

"I've contacted Barnette..." the other replied, sounding very strained, "she says that there's like some sort of...force...or something...pushing them back. They're having trouble just keeping in place..."

"But why aren't we..."

"Don't even ask me! Maybe we're just lucky or something. I'm just trying to get back to our ship to ask Parfet myself and get all this straightened out! Like you yourself said, for some reason, the communications don't work!"

"This is definitely strange..." Meia muttered to herself.

As they raced towards their ship from behind it, Dita noticed another small vessel heading in their direction. She immediately recognized it as the alien she was talking to earlier.

"Hey, Mr..."

Before she could finish, a brilliant light suddenly flashed from the Tarak ship and engulfed the surrounding space.

"WAAAAH!!!" Dita and Jura screamed as they were also engulfed by the luminance.

"What the..." Meia said, her curse being drowned out by the brightness.

_'Definitely not good...'_ she thought, as she fought to keep the intense light from permanently blinding her.


	5. Repercussions

**A/N: **This was supposed to have gone up days before, but our damn ISP's been acting up...it's annoying as hell! Anyways, SHOUT-OUTS!

**Rick Forrest** - Wow...this is one long-overdue update, huh? I'm telling 'ya, sleeping for only 3 hours everyday for a week really takes its toll. Anyways, it's gonna be over soon (our prelims exams I mean). Thanks for the review! :-)

**Stelok** - Glad to hear from you again! :-) Suspense isn't one of my forte genres, but I'm happy you think the story's exciting. I'm a real grammar-freak; ergo my writings all (or almost all) seem well-written. Thanks for the comments!

**MistressCoCoLoVeR** - And double thumbs-up to you as well for reviewing! :-) I'm also glad that you likey this fic, and that you think it's interesting! I'll try to make it even better in succeeding chapters. Thanks again! :-)

And that's that. Wow...I love hot chocolate milk at 3:30 in the morning...better than coffee (for me)! :-)

Anyways, here's the continuation...enjoy! :-)

* * *

**CHAPTER 4**

Repercussions

* * *

"Dita...! Hey...Dita!"

Dita stirred, waking from the blackness that dominated just right after the intense light. It all seemed to have happened hours ago.

_'Huh? What...just...?' _She thought groggily, now becoming aware of the voices around her. She realized that she was lying somewhere cold...metallic.

"Leader...?" She began tentatively.

"Oh good," it was Jura's haughty tone, "you're finally awake. We've been trying to wake you for a long time, you know?"

"Sorry..." She began again, even more tentatively, waking little by little.

It was Meia who now interrupted. "It's all right, Dita. You okay?"

"Well, yeah...um, leader, where are we?" The apprentice-pilot looked around. "Where are our Dreads? Were we thrown off or something...?"

Jura answered for Meia, but she couldn't hide the worry in her tone. "Well...we don't know exactly where we are, or where our Dreads are. While it's possible that we might have been thrown off, we also don't know exactly how we got here. We haven't been able to contact our ship, though we've been trying through Meia's wrist-com since waking up, so we don't know also where they are."

"It has only been a few minutes since Jura and I awoke." Meia added. "How long before that since the explosion...is anybody's guess."

Silence dominated the next several minutes. The three pilots, most especially Dita, worked mostly on gathering their wits and finding clues as to where they were. Meia checked her laser pistol in the while, just in case it would be needed. She carefully holstered it afterwards behind her.

The area they were in looked like the main hall of an abandoned ship; the walls of several conjoining rooms were crumbled down. The oxygen-generating and artificial-gravity systems seemed to be up and running, which suggested that it had been used very recently.

_'...only too recently...'_ Meia thought, considering their surroundings. _'Could this be...?'_

She did not have to complete her thought, as Jura called out to them from the expansive doorway at the far end of the large room. "Leader, Dita! Quick! Look at this!"

When the other two had reached the place, Dita let out a gasp. "Isn't that..." She pointed straight forwards.

It was unmistakable; they were now in a hangar of some sort. The humanoid-shaped Vanguard, its sleek black metal plating revealing it to be unused and almost untouched in its dock, had told them all that they needed to know at the moment.

"Then this is the Tarak ship, huh?" Jura asked no-one in particular. "But where are all the men?"

At the corner of the room, slightly obscured from view by some rubble, were some objects that they all recognized instantly.

"Hey! Our Dreads are here!" Dita exclaimed, instantly running to the females' crafts.

"But how...?" Jura began, throwing Meia a confused glance.

"Like us, perhaps..." was the curt reply.

The other shrugged. "Maybe...well, I think I'll check up on our gear," she said, also walking towards the Dreads.

Meia surveyed the area, rather confused herself. Like the other places in the ship, the interior looked like it had been torn asunder by an immense force. No holes or openings had been made towards the outside of the ship, though; they were at least safe from the dangers of the empty space. _'But how did all this happen...and where are the pilots and mechanics...?'_

Meia backtracked to the previous room they had been in. _'Maybe the command center's somewhere here as well...'_ she thought, in hopes of finding a way to control this ship, or at least a more reliable way to contact their own ship...if it was still in one piece...

The Dread leader spotted a large door, which looked like it was guarding the entrance to somewhere important, at the middle of the long wall of the room. She reached it and tried to get it to open, but to no avail. It was shut tight, so much that not even air could get to the other side.

She looked around once more. Aside from the way she had just come from and the locked doorway, there was only one other passageway in the room. Where it led, perhaps none of them knew...she only hoped that there would be something useful there...

Stepping inside over some rubble, she realized that this was the infirmary. Crates of first-aid littered the floor among the remains of sick-beds and pieces of concrete.

She was about to leave when one of the large stones moved.

_'What the...'_ she thought, nearly in a panic, raising her pistol. "Who's there?" She commanded, her cold tone devoid of the slight fear she felt inside. "Show yourself!"

The figure, now free of its former rocky burden, stood slowly. Meia noticed that it was definitely human, and that it had a white garment and long hair. "A...Mejale...?" she said uncertainly.

The other responded in a low and steady, though completely exhausted, voice that was unmistakably masculine. "I'm sorry...but I'm not a Mejale. I am a doctor, however, of this ship."

She was slightly disappointed, but unperturbed nonetheless, and maintained her aim at the Tarak. "Then tell me...what happened here?"

"Maybe you should...be the one telling me that. I'm not quite sure myself...that strange light...might have had something to do with it..."

Meia was now slightly agitated. Perhaps he wasn't cooperating fully. "Tell me!"

"I do not know...really." His voice remained the same, as if no weapon was ever pointed at him. Still, there rang the truth in his words. "I am just as clueless as you are..." he trailed off, slumping into unconsciousness once more.

Just then the plodding of approaching footsteps was heard nearby, and Meia turned a bit to see Dita and Jura marching towards her. They were dragging along another Tarak; though this one was blonde and clad in a brown uniform.

"We found him somewhere under the collapses in the hangar," Jura said almost smugly. "I had to knock him out when he looked like he was about to scream..."

"And the communications on our Dreads...?" was the leader's only reply.

Dita answered with a smile. "We got a link! Mostly static, though we've gotten a few words with them. We think they're alright, but the com-link gets cut off a lot..."

Meia sighed in relief. At least they now knew where they were, and that their ship wasn't devastated. _'Now if only there was a way...'_

"...eia! Meia! ?"

It was her wrist-communicator. Someone was trying to contact them. Meia quickly answered. "This is Meia! Jura and Dita are with me. Is that you, Ezra?"

"Thank goodness..." the voice on the other side responded, the transmission now beginning to clear up even more, "We've been trying to contact you for a long time..."

"How is the ship? Everyone...is everybody all right there?"

"Yes, everything seems to be fine, but there have been some...um, Parfet calls them 'technical complications'. She says it's nothing life-threatening, though, and she's very excited! You all know how she is when she's like that. All the other Dreads have come back only recently...and we even found that gold Vanguard you were fighting; the pilot seems to be alive and well, though now under custody, of course. You three are the only ones not yet back."

The Dread leader gave another relieved sigh. "That's good to hear. Anyway, we appear to have been transported somehow inside the Tarak ship. Can you locate us?"

"The Tarak ship..." Ezra said thoughtfully, as if something was out of place in her mind.

"Is everything okay?" Meia asked after an uncomfortably lengthy pause.

"Oh! Yes, yes...um, let's see...the Tarak...oh, here!" she stammered. "We've got a fix on your location and are now sending service ships to help you out. Don't worry; you'll be home in no time."

Jura grabbed Meia's wrist and spoke into the communicator. "And we've got two Tarak crew here. We don't know what happened to the rest. Make sure to bring suitable transportation for them as well," she hastily added, emphasizing the word 'suitable'.

* * *

_'Hibiki...Hibiki Tokai...' _

A voice was calling him. His name reverberated throughout this...this...wherever this was.

It was only then that he noticed that he was barely aware...more like merely 'conscious'; not quite 'awake'. He was floating...he felt so light. There was only a blue and black chaotic haze all around him.

"Who's there...?" he said aloud.

_'Hibiki Tokai...'_

"I'm Hibiki Tokai! Who are you?!" he was now irritated.

Then, death-black silhouettes began to shape in the azure disorder. Human figures...they fixed their faces on him, as if staring him down with concealed eyes.

_'You punk!__ You'll never amount to anything!'_

_'You're all talk and no action! Go back to where you came from!'_

_'There goes that idiot again! Give him an inch and he takes a whole mile!'_

He recognized those voices...those who he worked with, who he spent time with in the past; those who kept putting him down.

They were all the same...

"What did you say?! I'll show you...!"

_'Where is your proof?'_

"Huh?"

_'Proof...that you are alive...that you are who you say...Hibiki Tokai...'_

"I...I...don't know..."

It was that feeling all over again. The feeling of loneliness, and inferiority, washed over him, like many times before. Maybe he really was no more than a fool, who talked a lot but had nothing to show for his words...

"I...but...I will have it..."

His reply was quiet, but defiant and confident. He couldn't be sad now...his pride was at stake.

_'Prove yourself, Hibiki Tokai...!'_

He was about to answer, but no words formed in his mouth. Then he slowly lost himself, once again drifting off into total blackness.

* * *

It took only an hour and a half for the rescue crew to arrive and pick up the three pilots, the two found Tarak (now prisoners), the one other Vanguard, and whatever useful things they could find from the Tarak ship. Meia, Dita and Jura rode in their own Dreads, which they observed to be surprisingly perfectly operational even after the whole ordeal. Now, the party was mobilized and headed back to the Mejale pirates' ship.

What was left of the Tarak ship that the three pilots were in, they realized soon after they had set out, was nothing more than a half of what was once the original. At one side was a familiar insignia, which Meia recognized to be the one etched on the shut doorway. A good part of it had been cleanly severed off, as suggested by the lack of telltale rough edges in the area.

It was then no big question on their minds where the detached sector had gone, since a more horrifying sight beheld them: almost the entire expanse of the surrounding space was wrought with total chaos. Chunks of ships and pieces of metal and debris littered the vacuum, almost overwhelming even the stars with their sheer number. It was as if a great, vicious war had broken out, and only the spoils remained.

"What...happened...?" Dita uttered silently.

"This is just...horrible...!" Even Jura was taken aback.

Meia's eyes widened only slightly at the sight before her. Sure, they had been involved in a battle just awhile ago, and the consequences needed to be realized. The damage was done. There were winners and there were losers. Certainly they would have to get used to it...

_'...like I am...'_ she thought forlornly.

She automatically set her eyes to scan the area, a habit she had acquired being on the battlefield a lot, as well as being the ever-vigilant leader of the Dread squad.

Then she noticed something out of the corner of her vision...something that didn't quite fit in with the rest of the ruins...

She broke from the formation and cautiously flew to the site. It was nearby what looked like the remains of the mysterious ship they had seen...

...it was a cold gray, metallic...box, something like a...

"Team, we've got a safe-pod here! Send for inspection and retrieval at once!" she shouted into the com-link.


	6. More Repercussions

**A/N: **Aaaaaand it's our sembreak for the next couple of weeks!!! Now I can finally update this long-due stuff...many apologies for the long delay. I'll try to do a lot this vacation, but then again, I'm also busy...heheh...anyways...SHOUT-OUTS!!!

**White Shadow** - Sooooo sorry this update's only now...I'm glad you think it's excellently written (I'd only say it's mediocre-ly written...). :-) Many, many thanks for reading and many more thanks for the review as well.

**Jerry Unipeg **- Nice review...ok review...heheh. Seriously though, thanks lots for the reviews, and for reviewing all the chapters at that! :-)

Short...but that's the way it is right now. Mind's still kinda blank trying to recuperate. Anyways, here's the next part. Enjoy! :-)

**--------------------------------------------------**

**CHAPTER 5**

More Repercussions

**--------------------------------------------------**

How often has it happened in so short a span of time?

It was once again the same state of subconsciousness...a feeling in-between awake and asleep...though neither one predominating. One was somehow aware of things, though very vaguely, but unable to discern sufficiently to be sure. Was it a dream so real, it seemed to be reality; or was it reality so surreal that it seemed to be a dream?

When will it end?! I know I'm awake...but why can't I move?!

_'You...'_

Huh? Who is there?

_'You...'_

Show yourself!!!

_'You...who are not of this era...'_

So what if I'm not?! For all I know, this could be just one stupid dream! I mean, how could one possibly travel through time?! That's only fiction...!

_'Yours is the power of understanding...'_

And what could that mean...? I don't understand! I don't even know why I've been brought here, apart from what those cyborgs have told me...and all that's not even very clear...everything's happened so fast...

_'Your time has not yet come...'_

But...perhaps...you're right...

_'...but all will be clear in due time...'_

That's what everyone keeps saying...

_'...in due time...'_

But, yeah...I really hope so...

--------------------

The ship was once quiet and lethargic just earlier, they all remembered that clearly.

_'Now, that time seems so long ago...'_ Dita thought, actually relieved that the mood had finally been lifted. Crew members scurried to and fro, talking animatedly about the earlier events. Indeed, it was much different from the silent hallways she could still so distinctly recall.

The three Dread pilots had just gotten out of their vessels, which were now at the ships' hangar. Having landed after the transfer of all the cargo, including the mysterious safe-pod, had been done. While they all had their own concerns, Dita, for one, was anxious to find the "alien".

_'Ezra did say that the gold Vanguard was taken in...'_ she thought excitedly to herself as she literally skipped through the hangar doors and into the ship's interior.

Likewise, Jura had gone inside at once, saying that she was exhausted and wanted to get some sleep.

Meia, on the other hand, remained. She approached, and eyed with much wariness, their most recent load: the safe-pod they were able to salvage from the battle's leftovers. To say that its massive exterior was banged-up would have been an understatement, but then, it was built to withstand external forces. The black box was rather massive, and occupied a good part of the hangar. She was suspicious as to its contents, although she was even more intrigued to find out what those contents were; she even already had Parfet herself try to get the thing open to speed things up.

"Well, this shouldn't be too hard..." the engineer commented casually, "...just a little bit of...wait...here...and...almost...there! Open it is, Meia," she finished, not even breaking a sweat. At once, several of the ship's other mechanics, and a few of the armed guards, began gathering round.

With much caution, the door was very slowly opened. All those present, as well as those watching via the surveillance system, held their breath. Only when it was fully ajar, when light had sufficiently illuminated the small compartment, that anyone dared to move.

"A...Tarak...?" Meia questioned to nobody in particular.

"And...what are...all these...?" Parfet uttered similarly.

Someone was slumped against the wall, apparently alive, though very much unconscious. The being looked so much like one of the Tarak, though his garments were...different. It was to this particular being that Meia directed her attention at once to, checking for any injury, or perhaps weapons, that he might have been harboring.

_'While he does look like one of them, there's something...different about this one...'_ Meia thought for a fleeting second. She then shook her head, and focused on the other things inside. There was simply no time for strange thoughts...

Also in the interior, the pirates found objects that were by no means commonplace to them; big things, little things...some were familiar, though perhaps different in the sense that they were made of some unusual material, or designed in some unusual motif, or such; scrutinization revealed that none were a threat to life or well-being.

"Some of these are actually kind of cute," commented one of the mechanics, who took a wooden figurine from the back shelf.

"At any rate," Meia intervened, satisfied with the inspection and the contents, save for one; the only living, breathing one. "He seems to have suffered a hard contusion. Get him to the infirmary for treatment. He will have to be interrogated as to these...things..." she pointed towards the other articles inside the safe-pod. The guards complied, lifting the figure onto a stretcher and out of the hangar.

"Just fascinating..." Parfet marveled, still inside the safe-pod. While several of the crew had gone out and attended to other tasks, she and Meia, as well as a few others, remained to examine further the peculiar objects. Least to say, she was like a child in a toy store.

"What do you make of these, Parfet?" Meia asked, curious herself.

"Well," the engineer paused in thought for awhile, "I think I've seen some of these in the archives, but I can't remember exactly. Judging by their appearance, as well as their structures, I think that these were made with very good intention, although also with even more primitive means. Either way, we still have to make sure."

The Dread leader sighed. How in the universe could something like this happen? Why now? Why to them? The questions were all piling up in her head, and it was beginning a migraine.

"Oh yeah," Meia said suddenly, "you wanted to ask me something earlier, before I ordered you here?"

"Ah, yes! I almost forgot," Parfet replied just as suddenly, "I need you to see something about the ship." She added hastily when she noticed Meia's frown, "It's nothing dangerous, like all this stuff. It's just...strange. We'll need to go to the bridge."

"Oh...alright...if you say so..." Meia's tone was that of control, though a small part of it gave her hesitation away. Even her manner of stride, long and rather hurried steps as they made their way out of the hangar and towards the bridge, marked her worry. Along their walk, she noticed something was...unusual...not quite correct. While she knew that they most certainly were still in the same ship, she couldn't help but feel like they were suddenly transported, in one way or another, to somewhere else.

_'Didn't the walls change or something...?'_ she looked around while walking, wondering to herself. She quickly dismissed the thought, however; it seemed too farfetched.

Parfet had apparently noticed the reaction. "It gets even stranger when we get there..." she commented, sounding very excited.

_'Now she tells me...'_

Meia almost burst into the command room, closely followed by Parfet.

"What...the..."

The bridge crew was surprised at Meia's entrance, but instantly understood her concern. For the most part, the room looked the same as it always had been, so Meia was more than certain that this was still their ship. However, at the very center of the room's floor was a strange contraption, undoubtedly not there before. It was like a glowing...sphere or something...and its use was unknown, even by Parfet.

"Hey, I'm still working on finding out..." the mechanic replied when asked by Meia.

It took up a substantial amount of space and looked so much a part of the structure, that it couldn't have been installed in just the span of time that they were out, which the Dread leader realized to be no more than a few hours.

"And look at this..." Amarone, who stood nearby, said. She pointed at a small inscription that was lightly marked an obscure angle at the edge of the machine.

Meia observed the part for a second, and then exclaimed, "This is the insignia of Tarak! But then, it would mean that...!"

"This is...or was...part of the Tarak ship, I guess," Parfet finished for her.

"That was why I thought for awhile when you earlier said that you were at their ship earlier..." Ezra commented.

"But...how...? Boss? Sub-commander?" Meia asked, facing the higher officers.

"I'm afraid Parfet knows more than I do about this," Magno answered. B.C. only kept silent.

Meia turned to Parfet, a brow arched.

"Er...if I may, I'd like to discuss this with everyone. Could we call for a meeting?"

--------------------

"Let me out of here! What the hell is this?!"

Mere moments after waking, Hibiki was already sputtering curses. He either directed them to the Mejale "for being the monsters that they were", or to himself "for being so stupid to be caught". Credit the guards on-duty for not taking his threats too seriously; there was nothing he could actually do, anyway.

_'Damn...I'm such an idiot! I shouldn't be here...!'_

Luckily, the young doctor the three pilots had found earlier was there to talk some sense into the feisty mechanic-pilot. Needless to say, he was also imprisoned simply because he was a Tarak, though he was taking the situation rather well. "It wouldn't do any good to raise your voice like that. That is, of course, unless you want to get yourself shot or something..."

"Hey, don't look down on me, doc," Hibiki retorted angrily. "I don't see you doing anything to help us get out of here...and you too!" He added, turning to the other person in the cell.

The third person sat in a corner of the room with a smirk on his face. He didn't look all that reliable, though. "If you should know, I already have a plan to get us out of here. I'm just waiting for the right time to spring my trap."

"Yeah, whatever..." the doctor spoke in an unbelieving tone.

Then Hibiki began to wonder, "Oh yeah, who are you guys? How did you get here? What happened to the Ikazuchi?" He asked, stressing each succeeding question.

"I am Duero McFile, one of the physicians onboard, stationed at block two of the infirmary," the doctor answered in a steady voice almost mechanically, slightly shifting his white lab gown.

The other stood and saluted proudly. "Bart Garsus...Private First-class...third helmsman!" He made sure to display the diminutively small medal attached to the left breast of his tan uniform.

"And you must be Hibiki Tokai, I guess..." Duero said quickly, "...you're rather infamous, you know?"

"What do you know?" Hibiki sneered. "And what of the other crew?"

"No idea. I found the Ikazuchi in ruins when I first regained consciousness after the sonic boom. Unfortunately, I collapsed before being able to take a good look around..."

"Same here," the helmsman said, "for one second the whole ship was trembling bad, then the next, those Mejale were snooping around in our wrecked ship!"

"Was this their doing?" Hibiki asked.

"I overheard the other Mejale talking awhile ago...it doesn't seem likely that they were directly responsible for the goings-on. I'd even think that they experienced the same thing as us...only a little differently..." Duero answered slowly.

"Yeah! I mean, their ship is still intact!" Bart shouted, his voice reverberating through the walls of the cell. He suddenly held his hands to his mouth when he thought someone was peering through the other side of the bars. Fortunately, for them all, there was none.

"Not exactly...while we were being...uh...escorted here, I noticed that there were several parts and corridors of this ship that looked familiar," Duero droned on, "as if they were taken directly from the Ikazuchi..."

"You're sure? Maybe it was just some kind of trick..." Hibiki voiced, clearly suspicious.

"I'm sure...there can be no mistake..." the doctor replied coolly.

A moment of silence lapsed.

Hibiki broke the silence with a question. "So...what do we do now...?"

Only Duero responded. "We wait..."

--------------------

"...and that is what I think most likely happened."

The top brass of the pirate crew was gathered at the bridge. Transmission was turned off, since nobody wanted any mass panic in case the rest of the crewmates had any violent reactions. Parfet had just finished explaining her hypotheses concerning the recent events.

Suffice to say, everyone else was rendered flabbergasted, if not thoroughly confused.

"So..." Barnette asked, still unsure of what she just heard, "...you're telling us that the energy source of the Tarak ship...the...uh...peptis..."

"Pexis," Meia corrected.

"...whatever...caused both ships to merge and, in effect, form a new one?"

Parfet nodded in response. "Yep, that's right. I can't think of any other possible explanation...this is, after all, the pexis pragma we're talking about!"

Magno spoke, "Then this pexis is something more than just a power source, then?"

"Theoretically, most of its properties have yet to be verified, though it has already been established an immensely efficient source of energy, although a very unstable one at that. Of course, it would be difficult to imagine how it could cause such a dimensional disruption, but look at the situation! Not only has our ship obviously been changed, but we've also been thrown several light-years away from where we had that fight!"

"Hold on there..." Jura interrupted, apparently nonplussed, "...you mean that we're not anywhere on course anymore?"

"Haven't you been listening, Jura?" Meia reprimanded.

"Eh...heheh...sorry..."

"Well, it definitely seems that way..." Amarone replied. "In fact, according to our coordinates, we're now even farther from Mejale, and in the opposite direction. In effect, we've gone past Mejale."

"How long would it take to reach Mejale?" B.C. now questioned.

"At the rate we were going before we bumped into those two ships..." Belvedere said, checking her terminal screen, "...approximately eighteen months nonstop."

"More than a year?!" Jura stood and exclaimed.

Gascogne, who had been sitting quietly in one corner of the room, spoke wryly, "Well, there's nothing you can do about it, now is there?"

"Uh...that's not...but then again...! It's so frustrating!"

"I know; not only for you, but for all of us as well. But there's no use getting all worked up about it, since it was neither anybody's fault, nor could anyone of use here reverse what has happened."

"That's right, Gasco!" Dita, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, shouted.

"Thanks...but it's Gascogne! Not Gasco!"

"Haha...sorry, sorry..."

Everyone in the room laughed...except for one.

Meia then spoke. "And there's still the concern of those strange things we found at the safe-pod, not to mention its occupant..."

"He's a Tarak, right? I'd say that we just throw him in the cell like the rest of them..." said Barnette in her all-Tarak-should-be-destroyed tone.

"I don't think he is one of them..." Meia replied, to everyone's surprise.

"And what makes you think that, Meia?" Magno asked.

"He wasn't fighting; he was in a safe-pod. I don't even think he's from the Tarak ship; rather, from the other one, which wasn't at all hostile."

"I can't believe all this coming from you, of all the possible..." Barnette started, but was silenced by a harsh glare from the Dread leader.

Parfet interjected. "I believe Meia has a point. While he does seem most likely a Tarak, evidence suggests otherwise. I think we should just try to observe him, and try to find out what's really happening here..."

"I agree," Magno said, effectively silencing any objections that might have arisen, "it would be best not to rush things we're unsure of."

"Now..." the Boss continued, "if there are no more issues outstanding, might I suggest we all get some rest for change? I'd rather things calm down a bit before we do anything crucial..."

"Yes, boss!" The entire room echoed, signaling the end of the meeting.


	7. Convergence

**A/N: **Wow...it's been a looong time! Been busy with lotsa stuff, even during the vacation! And now, school's starting again! It's a good thing I was able to finish at least this chapter...

Anyways, enjoy! Hope the next update won't take too long...

**--------------------------------------------------**

**CHAPTER 6**

Convergence

--------------------

Three days passed without much incident. In the infirmary, Meia stared at the unconscious form on the room's one bed. Unbeknownst to the casual observer, or to those who didn't know her well enough, thoughts were running rampant through her mind.

_'Why do I get this feeling that this...isn't someone to be...feared? Could that other ship have been just a newer Tarak model? But the Ikazuchi warship was the last one out in production...even Parfet was more than sure about that. If so, then who exactly were on that ship? And what was their agenda for...?'_

She stopped suddenly and held her breath for just a second as she thought she noticed the figure move, something it had not done the whole while of her stay at the infirmary. It was only for a second, though, and she let it go, resolving that it must have been only her imagination. The instruments monitoring the sleeping individual's life signs showed no change whatsoever.

_'I must be thinking too hard...'_ she thought exhaustedly to herself, getting up and leaving towards her own quarters. She wasn't tired in the least, but situations like these called for a short nap...

_'Three days, and nothing...'_ Meia absently strayed back to her thoughts as she made her way along a corridor with a view of the outside. _'I'm sure things have calmed down enough, save for the Tarak prisoners, to decide on a next course of action. The problem is...even I am clueless as to what to do next...'_

She stared into the blackness of space. _'...if only he'd wake up...then maybe this mess could be cleared somehow...'_

For the second time in as many minutes, she shook her head. _'Why do I think too much about that? I really must be in need of some rest...'_

She was about to step inside her room when an alarm went off and the ship suddenly shook violently. The Sub-Commander's voice then resounded throughout the ship.

"All Dread pilots report to the hangar immediately! Hostile unknown vessels approaching dead ahead! Repeat..."

As fast as she could, Meia sprinted to the ship's hangar.

_'These sudden changes in atmosphere could sometimes be a pain in the head...'_ she thought irately.

When she had reached the hangar, she was met by Parfet. Dita and Jura were climbing onboard their own machines, and Barnette was already getting ready for takeoff.

"Why weren't we informed sooner?" Meia fumed as she ran to her Dread, now even more cross.

"Sorry! But it just sprang out at us as well on radar, then suddenly went berserk and all!" Parfet replied as she scurried as well to get the ship in order.

In no more than a few minutes, the Dreads were launched and flying in formation. At once, they were greeted by a hail of laser beams and enemy fighters. Luckily, none of them were hit as they quickly executed evasive maneuvers and began hitting back.

Among their enemies were small, unmanned ships that fired deadly blasts of red lasers; medium-sized ones that had appendage-like razors; and sphere-shaped vessels that seemed to zip aimlessly through the unoccupied patches of space in-between their smaller escorts.

"What the...? This is getting really tiresome..." Jura commented angrily after a few more exchanges of fire. While none of them were hit in any of the face-offs, they weren't able to hit any of their enemies either.

"They seem to be...I dunno...holding back, I think..." Dita said.

"They're studying our maneuvers..." Meia concluded simply.

"What?!" the rest of the Dread pilots shouted simultaneously. Barnette added, "You can't be serious!!!"

"Just do your best and concentrate! All of you! And be careful!" the Dread leader shouted back.

_'Damn...even then...this isn't going to be easy...not at all...'_ Meia silently cursed shortly afterwards, hoping that she didn't give her teammates false optimism.

The Dreads executed another wave attack...and then another...and another.

Nothing seemed to work.

"I don't believe this!" Jura said, even more exasperated than before.

"Leader! Our ship's being attacked!" Dita's frightful voice drowned that of Jura's annoyed one, and was paid more attention – even by Jura herself – mainly because of its message.

"What?! But how did they get past us...?" Barnette began to say, but was interrupted by Meia's commanding tone.

"Everyone back to the ship! Defend it at all costs!"

Meia was exhausted at this point. She knew that the others were as well. They had tried several complex strategies, and none proved effective.

These were no ordinary enemies.

_'Damn! We'll need a miracle...'_

It was then that she noticed a couple of figures fly out of their ship's hangar.

It was the black Vanguard...

...followed closely by the golden one.

-------------

A crack of light momentarily broke the darkness. Even upon just waking, Jai felt, quite oddly, more refreshed than anytime recently previous.

_'..where am I now...and how long exactly have I been out...?'_

An audible whoosh brought him to almost complete attention. While he didn't have the strength to sit up, his eyes were able to slowly open fully.

_'...what was that? ...sounded like a door or something...'_

Deciding that it wasn't all that important, he simply lay in bed, the thoughts coming to his mind one at a time and staying there to accumulate. What seemed like a long time actually lasted only for no more than a few minutes.

_'...oh, yeah...I'm starting to remember it all. How I was brought here; the things those two beings said...and then the sudden attack by...who knows who those were...'_

At once, he was able to sit up completely on the bed at the thought of being in one of those ships that had attacked. This, he found very shortly after, was not exactly the correct course of action, as a feeling of immense dizziness crashed over him like a pile of bricks and he plopped back down.

_'...postural hypotension...'_ he mentally reminded himself, passively recalling something he'd learned way back in his pre-med course. He waited a few moments before getting up slowly, tentatively flexing his joints in the meantime. He also noticed that he was still wearing the clothes he'd had on before the last time he lost consciousness. After making doubly sure that nothing was physically wrong with him, he began to look around.

The place looked similar to a medical facility, compared to the laboratory he had awoken to previously. The technology seemed more advanced, and the apparatuses were more organized. He was now convinced that this ship was at least still presently in-service in whatever organization it belonged to.

_'...it would seem that this is one of the ships that attacked awhile back. If I'm still alive, and am actually being treated like this, then they shouldn't be all that hostile. But who are they...'_

A blaring alarm abruptly cut off his thoughts, and a female voice sounded over the announcement system. "All Dread pilots report to the hangar immediately! Hostile unknown vessels approaching dead ahead! Repeat..."

"Now what could be going on...?" he said aloud, not really minding if anyone could have heard; there was nobody in sight anyway. Unfortunately, there also wasn't any window he could look through to get a better idea of things.

He sighed. _'...to do or not to do...is the age-old question...aaah, what the heck! Here goes...'_

In one fluid motion, he removed the machine leads that were attached to him, and literally sprang out of the bed. He surprised himself be finding that he could stand and walk normally given his previous condition.

Silently, he slipped out of the room and began traversing the corridors, making sure to avoid being seen by anyone. Fortunately, the people were few, and he had little problems. Still, the size of the facility made things none the more rapid.

...also, all of the crew members who passed him, he noticed, were female...

_'All the rest of them must've gone out already or something...maybe there's another fight going on...what a future this is!'_ he thought.

He crept around cautiously until he came across a huge room that looked like the engine room. _'Oh, great...now where have I gone...?'_

Before another thought could form, his eyes locked on a very strange object. It emitted a faint blue glow, warm and yet foreboding at the same time. In his mind, everything turned to black; he didn't notice the mechanics and crew in the area looking at him. There was only the blue, glowing sphere that seemed so...mesmerizing, almost alive...

The ship suddenly gave a lurch – it was clear that the pirate vessel was taking damage. Something in his mind told him to act quickly...

Then, before he even knew it, and before anybody else could react, he began running back through the hallways as fast as possible. It was as if his subconsciousness was leading his body to somewhere...not even he knew where or for what reason.

In an instant, he found himself in what appeared to be the hangar of the ship. His body, quite out of his own conscious control for causes unknown, didn't seem to care that he was attracting a lot of attention from the crew; it was simply acting on its own, as if it knew exactly what it wanted and how to get it. It was as if one was looking through the eyes of another's body.

There, in one corner of the hangar, was the black Vanguard the Mejale had claimed from the former Ikazuchi's remains. Of course, Jai wasn't at all aware of all those details; he wasn't even fully aware of what he was doing at the moment. Before anybody could stop him, he sprinted aboard and the machine immediately whirred to life.

_'...what the heck is this...?'_

His hands gripped the controls and began operating them, as if they had a consciousness all their own. The Vanguard stepped out and made its way to the launching dock.

"What are you doing?!" A voice sounded. "Stand down now!"

He shouted back, in a voice that sounded very much like his own, but not under his control, "Open the hangar!"

"Stand down! Both of you! Leave the Vanguards and..."

_'Both...?'_

He felt himself shout, nonetheless. "OPEN THE HANGAR DOORS! There is little time! Your forces at present do not stand a chance against the enemy! Now open the hatch if you value your lives! I am here to help you! You have no choice but to trust me!"

"Yeah!" Another voice piped up. "We don't wanna die in a place like this, for crying out loud! I promise we won't run away!"

Looking around, Jai noticed the other Vanguard standing right behind his. He didn't know who exactly the pilot was, but guessed that he had boarded the machine only moments after he himself had done so. Still, the other didn't seem a threat...he was more of an ally, in fact.

A stunning silence dominated the entire ship for little more than a few seconds. Then, the docking gates were opened.

"...thank you." Wasting no time, both Vanguards then shot out of the pirate vessel.

Jai Akira then finally became fully aware of himself.

_'...why do I get the feeling that I know exactly what to do...?' _he thought, now piloting the black Vanguard expertly, and diving into the raging battle, the gold one following closely after.

-------------

In the prison cell, Hibiki was growing more impatient.

"How long are we actually planning on waiting here, Mr. Know-it-all? This is getting ridiculous!" the dark-haired mechanic asked, annoyance clearly in his tone.

"…" was the only reply. Apparently, Duero was also getting restless, though he didn't let it show much.

Bart was more vocal, though...

"...well, at least they're feeding us here..."

Hibiki shook him vigorously by the collar. "Where's your pride as a man?! You sound like you're enjoying it here!"

"WAAAH! N...no! I...I-I-I mean...I..."

A loud clanging on the cell bars made them all look in the direction. There stood one of the Mejale, this one had short hair, and was in a violet uniform of some sort. She was holding a handgun.

"I can't believe how crazy you Tarak are...just looking at you makes me sick..."

Hibiki piped up. "Hey, you Mejale are the crazy ones here, you know? Where the heck are you taking us?! What've you done with our ship?!"

"The bottom line was that you lost the battle! And now you are our prisoners!"

"Hey! Let us out now and we'll show you..."

"Why bother? I could just shoot you from here, and..." she said smugly, taking aim right at Hibiki...then Duero...and then Bart.

The helmsman hid under the cot, crying like a baby. "Not me!!! Shoot him...or him! He's the noisiest one here! I-I'll do anything!"

"...idiot..." Hibiki mumbled, the blood vessels in his head pulsating.

She then laughed and lowered her pistol. "No wonder you lot are so miserable...you're such cowards!"

This further agitated Hibiki, who suddenly lunged at the bars. "What did you say?!"

"Be quiet!" she shouted, and banged her weapon once more on the bars for added emphasis. It seemed to work, as the noisy mechanic angrily took a seat on the steel floor with an audible "harumpf".

"And what brings you here, may I ask?" Duero finally spoke, calmly, detachedly, and with neither any hint of malice nor sarcasm nor curiosity, for that matter. "Surely you didn't come here just to pick on us..."

"...so I see some of you DO have some common sense..." she said after a long pause, shrugging and holstering her weapon, "Yes, my visit here was about something of importance. While you might not be overly concerned, my superiors have told me to inform you that we will be dropping you off at our planet once we get there, along with all the other trash that need to be disposed of..."

"...that isn't surprising..." Duero said.

She continued as if she wasn't disrupted. "...but it might take some time before that glorious moment actually comes. Somehow, the ship was thrown way off course..."

"...by that mysterious explosion, no doubt..." the physician interjected again.

This time, he was acknowledged. "That is also what we believe...but in any case, you three have been assigned to make yourselves...useful...for the time being."

Hibiki grunted. "What, you expect us to clean your stupid ship, or something?"

"Actually, we believe that part of it now used to be your ship."

"Then it is just as I expected..."

Hibiki grew agitated once more. "What?! You can't be serious! You can't believe this Mejale sc..."

Just then, an alarm sounded throughout the ship, the bleeping noise and broadcast announcement cutting off whatever was about to be said.

"All Dread pilots report to the hangar immediately! Hostile unknown vessels approaching dead ahead! Repeat..."

_'Now where do I remember this scenario from...?'_ Hibiki thought bitterly to himself.

"It looks like this will have to wait..." The Mejale, now looking more worried than anything else, a stark contrast to her haughty attitude mere moments before, sprinted out of the hallway and beyond.

The three prisoners were left once again to themselves. Only, this time, the whole place had a livelier atmosphere.

"Okaaaay...now what?" Bart, unexpectedly, was the first to air the question.

"Maybe the cavalry's finally here..." Hibiki retorted, though rather weakly. He hadn't really counted on the Tarak to send any rescue party, and, if ever it had, it certainly wouldn't have been this soon to arrive.

"No...they said 'unknown vessels'. I doubt it would be the Tarak coming to get us...or for whatever other reason there is..." Duero stated.

"Could they be the same ones as the one when we fought the Mejale before?" Hibiki asked.

"It is possible...it has been about three days since that time. They might have sent for reinforcements before ultimately going down...though I have a lingering suspicion that these ones could be entirely different..."

"You think too much..." Hibiki said, frowning a bit. "Let's just try to get out of here and kick them all to another world or something!"

"And you don't think..." Duero shot back in his usual cold tone.

"Hey, guys!" Bart interrupted, "this isn't the time to be fighting! We should be coming up with a plan to escape! Now that they're under attack, it could be a golden opportunity for us!"

Hibiki only dryly replied, "So...any bright ideas?"

The helmsman thought awhile...then scratched his head sheepishly. "Well, I thought I'd leave that part to you both..."

"...idiot..." Hibiki mumbled.

"Hey! I'm not all that useless! For instance, I can remember how to get to the hangar and the bridge from here..."

"Really now...?"

"Yeah! It was when they were bringing us here, to this place..."

Hibiki cut him off mid-sentence. "All right, all right, but such information would be useless unless we do find a way to get out of here," he said as he stood up and began to lean on the cell bars.

Suddenly, the whole ship shook violently. Hibiki lost his footing and slipped. He extended a hand to grip one of the bars, but instead found only air, and crashed on his face.

"Huh? The bars are retracted!" Hibiki said.

Bart spoke. "Must be some kind of malfunction or something, after that shock..."

Duero, however, didn't sound optimistic, "It would appear that the vessel is taking damage...this does not look good..."

"Doesn't look good?! We're out!" the mechanic exclaimed, "How can it not be good?"

"Whatever the circumstances...we have to protect this ship from destruction."

"Help the Mejale?! Are you out of your mind?! Why the heck should we do that?!" both Hibiki and Bart questioned.

"Because if this ship goes down, so do we..."

"Oh...I hadn't realized that..." they chorused after a short, but meaningful, silence.

"Alright!" Hibiki said, getting to his feet. "Duero, see whatever you can do to help with the medical stuff around here...Bart, you go to the bridge; you are a helmsman after all...I'll help out outside with my buddy. It might be contrary to everything that stands true, but...do we really have to do this?"

Duero just shot him an indifferent glance, though one that almost bordered on malicious had there been just a little more emotion.

"All right...but maybe only this once..." Hibiki said dejectedly. _'Oh boy...I'm really going to regret this...I just know it!' _

After being given directions by Bart, each of them ran their own ways. Hibiki made it to his destination in almost no time.

_'Hey...Bart WAS telling the truth...'_

When he had gotten to the hangar, the black Vanguard was already making its way out of its place in the corner.

_'Whoa...don't tell me that the Mejale are capable of piloting that...not even our scientists could get it to move that well...'_

Not giving the matter further thought, he just sprinted towards his own Vanguard. Jumping in the cockpit, he felt a sense of vigor at the thought of battle, though also a sense of misery at the thought of having to help the Mejale.

_'In any case, this has to be done...' _he thought, activating his "buddy" and stepping out towards the launching area.

A voice, clearly male, sounded from the black Vanguard. "Open the hangar!"

_'What the...is it moving by itself? Or...is there another Tarak here?'_ Hibiki thought, now more excited.

The control center sounded back. "Stand down! Both of you! Leave the Vanguards and..."

The other expressed more urgency. "OPEN THE HANGAR DOORS! There is little time! Your forces at present do not stand a chance against the enemy! Now open the hatch if you value your lives! I am here to help you! You have no choice but to trust me!"

_'Yeah...I guess they do, considering their ship's getting banged up...and we need them as well...so...might as well...I think...'_

"Yeah!" Hibiki said, despite himself. He couldn't just sit back and watch this unfold...it just wasn't his style. "We don't wanna die in a place like this, for crying out loud! I promise we won't run away!"

_'Hey...I gotta give them some sort of assurance...'_ he thought at his last comment.

A stunning silence dominated the entire ship for little more than a few seconds. Then, the docking gates were opened.

"...thank you." The black Vanguard said finally as it blasted off into the space beyond.

"You're not hogging all the action..." Hibiki mumbled, though supposedly directing his sentiments toward the other pilot...or whatever was in that thing. He then blasted off close behind.

"Yeah! Let's do this!"


	8. Joint Forces

**A/N: **Sorry, sorry, sorry for being away again for so long...! There's just lots, lots, lots to do in school (it's actually exams week coming up, and here I am posting another chapter...hehehe) Anyways, summer break's also just around the corner, so perhaps I could be more regular in updating for the next two months...provided that circumstances provide for it...ahem...Shout-outs!

**Godzilla2** and **Fenrir** – thanks lots for the kind reviews. :-) well, this is the soonest you're gonna be able to see more of this story...many apologies for making you wait long. Hope you like!

**shadowsoul51** – only four stars? Hehehe...just kidding. I'm glad you gave it that. :-) I'll try to make this fic even better! Thanks again for the review:-)

Alright...for now, I'm gonna just concentrate on studying for awhile. Enjoy:-)

* * *

**CHAPTER 7**

Joint Forces

* * *

To say that the Dread pilots were surprised at the sudden turn of events would have been an understatement.

"Captain, what the...?" Barnette began, getting cut off by a passing beam projectile.

"It's the aliens! It's the aliens!" Dita happily exclaimed. "They're going to help us!"

"Idiot! How could you think that? They're Tarak! Who knows what they're planning? I bet they're going to stab us in the back with the rest of these jerks!" Jura shouted almost as fast as her Dread was speeding.

Meia at once established contact with their mother ship. "Parfet...!"

"I know what you're going to say..." the technician said, quite exasperatedly, "...and it might look kind of awkward, but given the current situation, I believe that we stand a better chance with them out...besides, I also believe that they are sincerely going to assist you out there..."

"You weren't forced into letting them out, were you?" The Dread leader's voice was calm, almost stoic, even amidst the chaos all around.

"W-ellll...technically, we weren't also too willing...but it's better than having more trouble. The crew's having enough problems trying to pilot the ship effectively as of now..."

"Hasn't that problem been resolved yet?" Meia's tone increased very slightly.

"Combat scenario and tight movements weren't..." was Parfet's meek reply, "Perhaps if there was more time...huh?" the com-link was then abruptly cut off.

Meia tried again and again to re-establish the line, but without success.

_'And Parfet was just saying something about not having more trouble. I'm still not really sure that this is a good idea...'_ she thought, then began to reconsider as she took one long look around the battlefield, and as the space game of cat-and-mouse continued. _'..well, maybe this could work to our advantage...hoping that Dita is indeed right...'_

Flying nearer the Vanguards, the black one in particular, it became more evident that they were also fighting against the enemy ships. Feeling a renewed sense of hope, however small, Meia then contacted the black one as a squad of enemies was quickly disposed of by it.

"What are you..." she began, then immediately recognized the pilot's face – that of the person who was unconscious in the infirmary, "You! You're the...but how...?"

"Uh...yes?" he replied, perhaps almost as surprised as she was, and adjusted his spectacles. "We're kinda busy at the moment..."

_'Things just get more and more complicated...'_ Meia thought as she maneuvered around another enemy beam. _'But it does look like both of them are helping...'_

She then ran a hand through her hair and decided that there were more pressing issues to attend to. "...very well. As soon as this is over, return to the ship. There is a lot to discuss..." And then, almost reluctantly, she closed the com-link.

_'Well...this is a first...'_ she thought, opening another link, this time to her other comrades. "All Dreads...cooperate with the Vanguards! Repeat, cooperate with the Vanguards! Barnette and Dita will head Squad A with the gold Vanguard; Jura and I will head Squad B with the black one!"

A resounding, though slightly hesitant, "Yes, captain!" answered.

Their formations were instantly mobilized, and they timed their charges with those of the Vanguards. Much to their surprise, their attacks were now more effective, and they were actually able to bring down several groups in a short time.

"Captain, I really think this is working!" Dita shouted from her side of the battlefield over the com-link. "Those aliens really are helping us!"

"It looks like it..." Meia replied, a bit of reservation still in her tone. "Just be careful, understand?"

"Roger, captain!" Dita said before signing off.

Meia then noticed for a moment that the pirates' ship was moving around more; she tried to establish communications once again, but still with no success.

_'Darn. Why the...? Oh, let's just get this done and over with...'_

The Vanguards and Dreads continued their attacks.

In the end, all of the enemies were annihilated.

Though the battle was intense beyond anything they've encountered recently, and they were now rather worn out, Meia only took one minute to relax, just staring into the debris-riddled space.

She then sent out an announcement as she resumed her duties, "All crafts return to the ship at once. I mean ALL crafts, Dreads and Vanguards. No exceptions," before herself returning to their mother ship.

Needless to say, there was a LOT of clearing up to do...

* * *

"Alright, buddy...LET'S GO!" 

Hibiki was in great spirits even though, as he noticed, he was once again the last to launch from a larger ship. With the Ikazuchi gone, he mused, it didn't matter much anyway...

...what somehow got to him was the fact that he was fighting alongside the hated Mejale.

_'Crap...why did it have to turn out this way?'_ he thought glumly for a second, affording to sigh even with the chaos of battle all around him. He was brought back to reality by a streaking laser beam, which missed him only by inches.

"Whoa! Hey! Watch it!" he yelled in frustration. His rude and violent side usually got the best of him in stressful situations.

Nonetheless, it made him re-realize exactly why it was this course of action being taken.

_'Yeah, that's right...there are these guys to deal with. I just hope that those Mejale don't stab us in the back while we're helping them...'_

Without any more ado, except for his spirits rising once more, he set forward in full battle mode. His twin blades were quickly unsheathed and utilized, downing two enemy drones in one pass.

"Hah! This is even easier that I thought! Those Mejale need help with these pipsqu...?"

His last question was cut off by a beam connecting with the back of his Vanguard. Immediately, he veered left and was hit once more. A several more blasts, a few of which he was able to dodge, homed in on him before the enemy squad that was firing sped past him.

"Darn! Why you..."

A com-link flashed in front of him. It was one of those Mejale, this one with short hair, a violet outfit, and a harsh voice...the very same one who was talking with them...mocking them...at the ship's holding cell.

"Are you really helping, Tarak? I don't know how you managed to get out, but I'll have to second thoughts of shooting you down if you try anything stupid!"

The transmission was gone as instantly as it appeared, and before Hibiki could answer as well.

"Idiot! She should be thankful we're risking our butts out here!" he shouted to nobody in particular, though mentally adding, _'I should be more careful, though...almost got beat up badly there...yeah, I'm gonna show them who the cowards are...'_

Filled with new vigor and optimism, Hibiki charged again. This time his blades felled two...three...five...six enemies in one go. The Dreads assisted, providing backup fire, destroying more of their foes. Hibiki found it only the least bit strange that he wasn't hit by their volleys. He was thankful, though, albeit also in the least bit.

He could see the other Dreads, and the other Vanguard, battling the common adversaries not too far from their own position. _'That other Vanguard pilot's good! Wonder who he is, though...'_

The combined efforts of both Vanguards and Dreads proved to be effective. In what seemed like a short time, all their opponents were reduced to rubble and debris. They had won.

"Yeah! Take that, you scum!" Hibiki shouted once again to nobody in particular, since there were no more of the hostile vessels. "Oh, yeah...gotta thank that other Vanguard pilot as well...I would've had a harder time convincing those Mejale creeps if not for him..."

He turned on the com-link, and flashed a joking sneer. "Hey, idiot! You hogged up all my action! Huh...? Who are you?"

The screen then went black; the other pilot had disconnected the communications.

"That's strange...who is that guy?"

Another screen popped up, this time one of the Mejale, one with blue hair and a weird-looking eyepiece...or whatever that was. "All crafts return to the ship at once. I mean ALL crafts, Dreads and Vanguards. No exceptions." Then black once more.

Hibiki thought for awhile, whether to follow or try to make a crude escape. Noticing the other ships, as well as the Vanguard, heading back, he decided to go along, but not without a lot of grumbling and sulking.

* * *

He could feel them...the controls were definitely at his hands. But what was it exactly that he was controlling? How could he possibly know how...? 

A laser blast roused him from his slight distraction, and he swerved the machine to avoid getting hit.

_'Damn...there isn't any time to think...just do what's needed to be done now...' _Jai concluded.

Pushing the rest of his thoughts to the back of his head, he concentrated instead on piloting. Several more beams veered his way, and were easily dodged.

"Alright...come on..."

He then dove headfirst into an enemy phalanx and weaved among the other vessels, flailing the one steel blade of his craft all the while. Speeding out of the enemy formation, he simply watched back as the entire squad blew up in flames.

"Cool! Even if I do say so myself!" He marveled.

Just then, the communications link turned on, and a female face appeared onscreen.

"What are you...you! You're the...but how...?" Her voice was smart, stern...then suddenly full of astonishment.

"Uh...yes?" Jai blurted, taking a second to clean and then adjust his glasses, a habit he had developed a long time past. "We're kinda...busy at the moment..." he replied as he dodged another beam.

The other just ran a gloved hand through her blue hair. "...very well. As soon as this is over, return to the ship. There is a lot to discuss..." and then the screen went blank.

"She was...cute..." Jai found himself wondering; he then shook his head. "Arg! What am I saying! No time for those things...just concentrate...!"

Once again, he focused solely on guiding the machine around deadly lasers while attacking and destroying the sources of said shots. The ally ships, those that looked like ordinary ships, and that gold one that looked like his, also joined in, assailing from different directions.

Their combined attacks became more and more effective, and a greater number of foes began falling one after the other.

Finally, there were no more of the enemy left.

"Hey, these guys are good! Maybe they didn't need any help after all..." Jai thought out loud, falling back on his seat...

...when a lot of small com-link screens popped out in front of him all at once, making him almost jump right up in surprise. Most of them were girls...only one, in fact, was a male. He could scarcely make out what each was saying, but the general ideas were...

...several "Thanks for the help...huh? You're that guy!"...

...a number of "Why'd you bother? We could've done it without you!"...

...and one "Hey, idiot! You hogged up all my action! Huh...? Who are you?"

Overwhelmed, Jai did the first thing that came into mind – he shut off all communications.

"What the heck was THAT?" He wondered to himself as he plopped down once more on the backrest of his seat.

He sprang back up when another communication screen appeared. It was that blue-haired girl again...

"All crafts return to the ship at once. I mean ALL crafts, Dreads and Vanguards. No exceptions."

And then, blank.

There was a moment of rather tense silence; Jai half-expected somebody else to pop up on communications, but, fortunately, none did so.

"Oh well..." he sighed finally, maneuvering his vessel back to the ship, silently hoping that he didn't just jump out of the frying pan and into the fire.


	9. New Things

**A/N: **Wow...it's been sometime since last update...I've been meaning to get this out sooner, but circumstances kept coming up...thankfully, it's summer break now, and time to get some R&R (rest and relaxation).

Shout-outs!

**Godzilla2** – Nice to see ya again! I'm glad you think the story's coming along nicely :-) I'll try to get the next chap out sooner than later...keep hoping. No promises, though. See ya too next time :-)

And...that's it. Enjoy the continuation! And please R&R (read and review) :-)

* * *

**CHAPTER 8**

New Things

* * *

"...and that is all I could recall up to this point."

Jai felt like he had been under interrogation by federal agents. He had just finished narrating all he knew that had happened to him. A rather unbelievable tale, even he himself considered after having told it, but he knew that it was all truth.

Unfortunately, most of the others didn't see it that way. It wasn't that hard to tell that they were not at all convinced; amused, or maybe a little confused and irritated, perhaps, but definitely not convinced.

"Do you expect us to believe all that crap?" Jura demanded, at the same time banging the conference table angrily.

"Jura!" It was Gascogne who silenced her. "A little less violence, please. We're not here to fight...that's been finished already."

Barnette joined in. "I can't believe that you'd even listen to this Tarak idiot! And his stupid..."

Hibiki, who had been very uncharacteristically quietly listening at a corner along with Duero and Bart during the whole episode, spoke, "Hey, we don't even know him! I've seen him only now and..."

"Ah, now there's the way to act civilized, not just spouting harshly. Go ahead, got anything to say?" he was cut off by Gascogne, who had noticed Jai raising his hand, as if wanting to say something.

"Well...yeah. Why do you keep calling me 'tarak'...? What is that anyway?"

The entire room fell quiet.

"You mean..." Parfet said a few moments later, breaking the silence, "you don't know what Tarak is?"

Jai shook his head. "Sorry...I don't."

"How about Mejale?"

Again, the same response, "No idea..."

Barnette's brows furrowed. "He's lying. He's trying to bluff his way out."

"I don't believe so..." Magno finally responded. "Call me an old hag who relies too much on hunches, but my gut tells me that he's telling the truth."

Jai let out a small sigh of relief. This old lady seemed to be the boss around here...either that, or she was the voice of reason and wisdom. Either way, she seemed to be getting a lot of respect.

"That is, of course, just my feeling. He will therefore be placed under very close observation until anything can be objectively proven. We can't be too careful..." she continued, giving a rather sly smile. Jai got the feeling that he wasn't totally out of the woods yet

"How about if we asked you about those objects we found in the safe-pod?" Parfet asked, again directing her words to Jai. "I've been able to figure out some things about them on the archives, but the details are really fuzzy."

He figured the 'safe-pod' was where he was found, and that she was referring to the vintage collection he had seen earlier. "Uh, sure...I believe I can help with those."

"It's settled then," Magno concluded, getting up from her seat, "we first inspect those strange things. Guards, bring the prisoners back to their cell..."

Bart and Hibiki, and even Dita, complained. "What! But...!"

"Be quiet!" B.C. retorted loudly. "That may be true, but you still are the real Tarak! All the more should we be cautious."

"It figures...well, we did prove that we're not exactly enemies during that last battle, though..." Duero said coolly.

Magno thought for a while. "Very well. Be more lenient with them. And give them full rations this time instead of half."

When the three had been escorted out of the conference room, Meia asked Parfet, "One of them...that...Hibiki...helped us out in the battle. How did the other two...?"

"Well, in a rather uncertain turn of events, the calm one began helping to tend to the wounded at the infirmary. He's quite skilled too...and none of our crew seems poisoned yet."

Meia nodded. "And the other?"

"He barged into the bridge, and promptly fell into the glowing sphere at the center of the room. I'm not really sure how, but he was somehow able to control the ship's movements more accurately even than Amarone from there. The communications went down maybe also because of that...heh, I'm not also sure. It was really remarkable, though..."

"Then that confirms that those really are parts of their own ship. The question now is..."

"...that strange fellow? Well, the riddle will solve itself soon, I hope," the mechanic said, motioning towards the small group of their crew that accompanied Jai towards the hangar area. She and Meia followed.

* * *

"Wow...this place is bigger than I first thought..." Jai whispered to himself.

Parfet, Meia, Ezra, Magno, Gascogne, and Jai were all inside the safe-pod, which was roomy enough to accommodate them all. Some other members of the crew simply stood outside, able to see and hear enough of the interior to know what was going on.

"Care to start? We're ready when you are." Gascogne said to Jai as she picked one of the figurines up.

"W-ell, most are just figurines...for decorative purposes. There are books, some furniture, some clothes..."

"Those are easy to figure out, though they might look rather different; how about this?" Ezra asked, standing in front of the piano.

"That's a piano, a musical instrument. It's..."

Parfet cut him off, reading something from her portable palm-computer. "...an obsolete instrument, used to make beautiful melodies..." she stopped when she noticed the others looking at her, "Oh, sorry...it's from the archives. Well, other than that, nothing else is written. There isn't even a picture. I got the info only through the definition...so now's also the first time I've ever seen one."

"I don't remember you relaying any of this information to us before, Parfet..." Magno said, with a hint of surprise in her tone.

"You see, they aren't really that complete...in fact, there's little to go round as it is, even with all the sources I've gathered, some even from the Tarak database I was able to hack into one time. All the info supposedly describes the culture of our distant ancestors, but, as I've said, there's very little of it. There are only one- or two-sentence definitions at the most usually for a given topic. Besides, I figured they'd be of trivial use."

"Then if this...piano...really is what everyone says it is, the kid might really be telling the truth." Magno replied, now looking at Jai. "Then, Jai, could you give a demonstration? It could also serve as proof for what you say."

"All right...I might be a little rusty after two thousand years, though..." Jai said with a slight laugh. _'This is no time to make jokes...'_ he thought, but then heard Ezra laughing silently as well.

He sat at the piano and began playing Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata'. The crew, who had been whispering among themselves, grew quiet and listened.

Meia, who had moved right next to the instrument, watched intently as Jai's hands glided across the ivory keys. _'Each strike seems individual, and yet, so harmonious with the others at the same time...'_ she thought, almost losing herself in the soothing, though somewhat melancholic piece. The other pirates seemed in a similar state of trance as well.

When the song had ended only a minute later, the room was filled with silence, as if time had stopped. Jai looked around and noticed this. Frankly, it made him a little uncomfortable.

"Well, that was just the first part of 'Moonlight Sonata', composed by someone named Ludwig Van Beethoven. It's actually my favorite, though music like this is called 'classical', as compared to contemporary..."

Magno began an applause; slowly, then growing in volume and grandeur as more and more joined in clapping. It lasted for a few seconds, and when it finally died down, the Boss spoke, "Very well done. That was remarkable indeed."

Jai grew a little red. "Thank you. But might I ask; how is music being made in this time?"

Parfet answered. "You see, everything's done with machines nowadays. There are those who, as their line of work, program computers to come up with music...though rather different from what you just played. Rock, techno, and some slow songs are pretty popular now...at least in Mejale."

Jai nodded. "Yeah, those are also contemporary during my time. Something I'd like to ask, though..."

Just then, one of the side doors of the hangar opened, and a small, floating robot hovered out quickly. A few mechanics ran out after it. "What was that music?" It asked aloud.

"Hey, that's the NAVI robot we found after the battle with the Tarak recently," Parfet exclaimed, "How were you able to get it to work?"

One of the scientists answered, "We didn't, ma'am. It just up and moved on its own right after that fight with the unknown enemy just recently. It seems to be...uh...malfunctioning."

"In what way?"

"Uh...how do you put this...? Well, it acts...rather...casually. Not at all like an ordinary droid."

The robot, surprisingly, answered the mechanic. "Hey! My name is Pyoro! And I can assure you I'm not malfunc...!"

Parfet plucked it out of the air in mid-sentence. "That is so amazing! But odd, though. Anyways, let's see what makes this thing work like this! Well, be seeing you all later! Gotta get to work!" She was like a giddy child, and she scooted out into the research lab to 'get to work'.

"She's always like that when something interesting about machines pops up," Magno said to nobody in particular. She then turned to Jai. "Ah, you were saying?"

"Well, yeah...what exactly is...uh, Mejale...and Tarak?"

Another short stillness, but this time it was Meia who replied. "Mejale is our planet. We, women, are also referred to as Mejale. Tarak, on the other hand, is what we call the men and their planet..."

Jai looked surprised. "Men and women live on different planets!"

"That is correct. It's been that way for since time immemorial. How other way could it be? "

"Since time immemorial! No way! This wasn't in the history lesson those androids gave me...what the heck has happened to people...to the human race!"

Now even the others looked confused. "Human race? People? What are you talking about?" Meia asked.

Jai was almost in a panic already. "People! Homo sapiens! Man and woman! How could they not coexist?"

"Hey, calm down!" boomed Gascogne's voice over his own. "So you are saying that in the time you come from, Tara...I mean, men and women live together, in peace and harmony, and they are called people, or the human race?"

"Absolutely! In the time I come from, everyone lives on the same planet! Outer space had only been recently explored!"

Gascogne paused for awhile before speaking. "Yep...I truly believe he's from another time. It's either that, or he's gone really loony. But the second reason won't explain how he knows to work that instrument, so it has to be the first."

Jai was totally confused at this point. _'How did this happen? How could men and women not coexist...and for ages already? And now they're acting like total enemies! No wonder this ship had only women...'_ He didn't notice his eyes were glazed over and his breathing was ragged. Still, he was somehow able to calm himself down reasonably, a mental trick he developed while awaiting stressful tests in medicine school.

"Okay, that's enough for now. I don't know how much more excitement our guest could take. I believe a little rest is in order; this will be continued another time." Magno stated finally, heading out of the hangar. "Meia, show him to his quarters. We've had enough gallivanting for today."

* * *

Meanwhile, at the prison cell, Bart and Duero had fallen asleep. It was only Hibiki who was awake when Dita entered.

He watched as she walked towards the cell bars. It was amazing how much the Mejale actually looked like them, the Tarak...very much different from what he had imagined before.

He gave a start when she spoke; she had gotten close to the bars without him noticing, it made him silently curse himself for being so careless. "Uh, I'm really sorry I couldn't do anything to help you..."

Hibiki faltered awhile. _'Is this really...'_ He then remembered that he could speak, though his words came out weakly. "Uh...that's alright..."

"Anyway, I was hoping we'd get the others to understand that you're not really bad aliens...but it's hard to..." she said, brightening up a little, "but I believe you're actually good aliens."

"We're not actually aliens in the first place, you know..." Hibiki started.

Dita didn't seem to notice, as she kept on talking. "But I'm going to talk to Boss again...maybe I could at least get you better rooms. Thanks, Mr. Alien! See you again soon!" she said, before giving him a sweet smile and skipping out of the room.

Hibiki was stunned for a moment, but then shook his head and arched an eyebrow. "Now what was that all about? Crazy woman..."

* * *

"So...you still don't believe me, then...?"

Jai finally broke the silence as he and Meia traversed the hallways of the ship. Before they had left the hangar, Jai took his own personal things, to be kept in his quarters. Of course, Meia had him assure her that none of them were weapons of any kind. He was still shaken up a bit over the revelation, but to a lesser extent than before.

"Well, the story itself is already hard to believe, so you shouldn't be so surprised."

Jai sighed. "True, but what really surprised me was..."

"The existence of Mejale and Tarak? What could be so hard to understand about that? Everyone knows that the Tarak are evil and disrupt the balance of this entire universe..."

"Yeah, and that's also what the Tarak say, I presume..."

"That is their excuse."

He sighed again. Then he noticed Meia had stopped walking, and was standing in front of a doorway. "Here is where you will be staying." She said before turning to leave.

She turned to leave, when Jai spoke, sounding sheepishly. "Uh, how exactly do these doors open...?"

Meia wasn't sure if she was going to laugh or feel irritated. Instead, she did neither, and just showed Jai how to open the door. "Anything else?" she asked, rather coldly.

Jai laughed nervously. "I'm really sorry...I think I'll be able to manage from here on. Thank you very much, Miss Meia."

"Just Meia will do..." she replied, stepping into his room and turning on the lights.

"Uh...you don't have to..." Jai stuttered, stepping in after her. The room wasn't all that big; a bed, table, closet, a few shelves, and the light above were the only furnishings. A door was to the left wall from the entrance, and almost the entire right wall was a window, showing the outside space. He wasn't able to finish the sentence, but rather ended with a very awed "...whoa..."

"That door leads to the shower," she said, pointing to the aforementioned on the left side of the room, "...the room looks rather tidy. One of the girls must have cleaned it up recently."

He put his stuff at the foot of the bed. "Whose room is this, anyway?"

"...it used to be mine, but it hasn't been used for a long time. It's yours...for now."

"You mean...I'll be moving somewhere else?"

She looked towards the outside. "None of us knows whether your being sent here is temporary or not, or even whether you will be kept on the ship for long, even. Just understand that this will be your room for now."

"Okay..." he replied, as he began taking out his belongings and arranging them in piles on the bed.

Meia took the opportunity to examine his things more carefully. While they were not really things that were totally alien to their own way of life, any of them could tell that there was something...different about them. Perhaps it was how they looked, or, in the case of the music earlier, sounded.

"...I'm not going to bring out a gun and shoot, I can assure you," Jai said when he realized that he was being observed.

"Huh...? That's not...I'm just keeping an eye on you."

"Well, in any case, you're more than welcome to stay...just let me get my things in order. Shouldn't take more than a few minutes...not that there's a lot of them anyway..."

He placed the clothes neatly inside the cabinet, while his books and a few of the decorations he had taken from the safe-pod went on the shelves; the guitar was let to rest beside the cabinet. Meia observed intently, her curiosity getting the better of her logical side, enough to persuade her to stay instead of leaving. Finally, after only a short time, the only things that hadn't been put away were the medical supplies he had 'recently' bought.

"So...what do you think? Everything looks good?" He asked her, referring to the job he had done so far.

Meia just shrugged, closing her eyes for emphasis...or so that they wouldn't unexpectedly betray her. "Makes no difference to me; it's your room."

Jai looked somehow disappointed, but then suddenly asked, without any hint of negative emotion in his words, "Oh yeah, you suppose these could be put in the infirmary? I don't really need them here, and they can really help." He was referring to the supplies he had.

Meia raised an eyebrow. "How did you know we had an infirmary?"

"Well, it's really not hard to conclude..."

She figured it out as well, and simply nodded. "Now I presume you want me to show you the way there?"

"That would be fine, unless you'd like someone else to bring them instead..."

Meia rolled her eyes. "I'll show you there. It isn't a long way, besides," she said, leaving the room with Jai following closely after.

As they walked, Meia, rather uncharacteristically, began the conversation. "How come you have those supplies with you?" She was looking downwards, as if in thought as she spoke.

"You see, I was on my way home from medicine school. These things were supposed to be for my duty work for the next week."

"You are in training to become a physician?"

"Well, you make it sound so formal, but that's right. Perhaps 'were' would be a more appropriate term, even though it isn't...er, wasn't finished yet. I still have...had about three more months to go."

She nodded and let out a slight laugh, though still looking down at the floor as they continued to make their way to the infirmary. The rest of the walk went by in silence, save for the occasional greeting they both gave to other crew members they passed. Jai somehow suspected that he was being talked about by them, but brushed the feeling aside.

* * *

Dita stomped through the halls on her way to the bridge. She was going to have a talk with either the boss, or with the sub-commander at least about the aliens. She just had to convince them that these weren't bad aliens.

_'Why would they have helped us if they were all that bad?'_ Dita thought, her resolve growing stronger with each step.

However, she paused when she reached the big passageway to the bridge. Could she alone be able to convince those who were smarter, who were more powerful than she was? She knew she wasn't really dumb, but she wasn't also the brightest.

For just a moment, she faltered.

_'But I can't give up now...'_ she thought, trying to cheer herself on.

She was about to open the door, when it opened all by itself.

"Oh, Dita. What brings you here?" It was Ezra who had opened the mechanical gate moments before Dita did.

"Oh, hi Ezra...well, I was about to ask the boss or sub-commander..."

"...about those Tarak being in the prison, right?" Ezra finished for her.

"Uh...yeah. How did you know?"

Ezra giggled. "Well, I heard the boss and sub-commander talking about it just now. I believe that they're going to go easier on them and to the other guest too. They did help out after all. I'm sure Meia and the others have been told as well..."

Not waiting for the rest of the statement, Dita burst into the bridge and at once looked for the boss, who sat in her usual place.

"Boss! Thank you!" Dita shouted, happiness filling her tone.

Magno nodded in understanding. "And thank you also, Dita. It was you who had the most contribution to our decision. Just look out for them, okay? I'm counting on you," she also said in response.

Dita smiled back. Still looking around, she then thought something was amiss. _'Hey, where's the sub-commander? I should thank her also...'

* * *

_

Again...he was seeing it again. There was nothing but blue, and black, and chaos.

_'Hibiki...'_

"Not you again! Who are you anyway!"

_'...your proof...'_

"Huh?"

_'...your existence...'_

"You're not making any sense!"

_'...your power...'_

"My...my...power...?"

A loud clanging woke him from his dream. "Hey Tarak!"

Also Bart and Duero were roused by the noise. "Get up, all of you."

The bars of the cell were drawn, and two Mejale stood in front. One of them was the one the others earlier referred to as the 'sub-commander'.

"Are we needed to fight again?" Duero asked nonchalantly.

"Actually," the sub-commander said just as coolly, "we're here to escort you to your proper living quarters on this ship."

Bart and Hibiki both got up at once. "What did you say?"

* * *

In the infirmary, Pai was still working on fixing up the place. She almost screamed when Meia entered and said, "Pai..."

"Don't scare me like that! I thought you were Gasco again...!" the young nurse yelled, but suddenly stopped when she noticed the other person enter.

"Anything wrong...?" Jai asked.

Pai shook her head, too surprised to speak.

"Wow...cool!" he exclaimed, looking around. Most of the things were already neatly arranged; only a corner seemed to still need organizing.

"Why's he here?" Pai whispered to Meia.

Jai spoke, as if in answer to her question. "Well, you seem to be cleaning up here...very sorry for the intrusion, but I thought I'd bring these medical supplies here for keeping, and for use as well should the need arise. Would that be okay?" he asked, flashing a smile. Meia simply looked at Pai and pointed towards Jai as her own reply.

"Uh, okay, I think," the nurse replied, "just be sure not to disturb anything else, alright? It took me a looooong time to get all these things orderly."

"No problem. Just say where these need to go."

Meia blinked, and then sighed. "I guess I'll help as well..."

Soon, with the three working, the infirmary was all organized. "Finally!" Pai exclaimed, beaming at the work done. "Thanks a lot, you two. Hah! I'd like to see Gasco still complain about this place! And now..." she said slyly, taking out what looked like a camera, "...on to more important things!" She dashed out of the room, leaving her companions.

Jai let out a chuckle. "Isn't she a little young to be in a place like this?"

"It's not like anybody had much of a choice. Circumstances led her to be here, like many, if not all, of us," Meia said, stepping outside the door, "in any case, it's better than her being a Dread pilot."

"I guess..." Jai sighed, also leaving the room. "Anything the matter?" He asked as he noticed Meia just standing outside.

"I'm keeping an eye on you, remember?"

"Oh yeah..." Jai smiled, and then began walking back towards his room, Meia following closely.

When they neared the destination, Meia asked, "No other agenda?"

Jai opened the door. "Maybe later, or more likely tomorrow...I'm bushed! I guess I'm going to bed after a shower."

"Oh, okay..." she sounded almost disappointed, though Jai thought he was giving groundless implications to her tone.

"Well, thanks lots for your company, Meia. I really appreciate it," he added, smiling genuinely.

She just nodded, and as the door closed fully, she began towards her own room, not even bothering to notice that the lock on Jai's room wasn't activated.


	10. Assimilation

**A/N: **Haha...it's been quite a while... Many apologies to those who prompted an update but got it only now. I'm telling 'ya, school is literally eating away at my time!

Anyway...this chap turned out pretty (very) short. I decided to chop up a rather long chapter to make two, though the other one got the lion's share. Meaning it's longer than this one. But it's still pretty unfinished as of late...

...and I'm getting ahead of everything else. Hm...shout outs!

** >Iketani** – Uh, this update wasn't as "soon" as it might've been. :-) I'm glad you're enjoying the story thus far...that's what gives authors the drive to continue; that other people like their work. Many thanks for the review:-)

** >Godzilla2** – Thanks yet again:-) I'm really sorry for the delay in updating...and that this chapter is even shorter than the previous one. Haha...though I'll try to have next one up sooner than...well...sooner. :-) Thanks again!

** >Raven** – Yeah, I'll be keeping this up and updating until it's finished. When that will be...I'm not also very sure. :-) Thanks for the inspiring review:-)

** >Gojiro17** – wow! Your rev conveyed a lot of urgency...sorry if this update wasn't as early. Anyways, lots of thanks for it:-) I'll really try to update more often. :-)

** >azure** – haha...nice suggestion:-) Yea, he will also be able to combine like Hibiki's Vanguard...but with different results. :-) Dunno exactly how yet, but I'll get there eventually. Thanks for the review:-)

** >anonymous – **Hmmm...when's the next update? Uh...now. :-) And the next? Hm...that I can't really answer...it would depend on how hard they work us at school; hopefully before September. :-) Thanks lots for the review!

Whew! Again, many thanks to everyone reading and reviewing...and I guess that's it for now. Enjoy the continuation! Hopefully the next part will be done before the month's end, but I'm not making any promises. :-)

--------------------

**CHAPTER 9**

Assimilation

--------------------

_'Akira...'_

Am I dreaming?

_'...Jai...'_

What is this?

There was nothing...only total darkness...an empty void...and the voices...

_'...yours is the knowledge of the past...'_

If I'm here in the future, then that would make sense.

_'...and yours is the understanding of the present...'_

How can I understand the present? If what they told me was all true, even knowing it now, I can't really comprehend exactly how and why! What's more, you're not really even helping!

_'...the ability to comprehend...to make sense...'_

You're not listening! Very little makes sense! And what the heck am I supposed to do now!

_'...all will come in time...'_

Again...in time...I thought you'd say that...

He sighed mentally.

Well, no sense in getting all uptight now...these are things out of my control. Should just try to make the most of things...

--------------------

Jai stretched out before even opening his eyes upon waking from a surprisingly restful sleep. Not feeling his alarm clock where it should be, he ventured to take in visual information.

He sat up as fast as his eyes shot open. _'Where the hell am I...?'_

_'...oh, yeah...'_ he thought as recent events presented themselves in his memory. _'Now it's really surprising how I could forget something as strange as this...'_

He got up immediately, and, only after a shower and change of clothes, noticed something blinking on what seemed to be a computer terminal beside the doorway.

"Hmmm...'one message'," he read from the screen. Pushing a button, some text replaced the menu display. "Let's see...'Jai, Meia probably forgot to...or maybe just didn't...mention yesterday, but you're free to roam the ship on your own. You've become pretty popular around here, and I doubt anyone would do anything rude, especially after what occurred yesterday. What I can say is that the Boss can personally guarantee it, so don't worry one bit. But also don't, DON'T get into trouble, or else. Oh, and most of all, enjoy! Parfet.'

'P.s. – This is just between you an' me, (well, and Meia also) but Meia didn't want to send the message herself, so I sent it for her. She also says hi! '"

"That's, uh, nice of them..." Jai said, scratching his head.

He then opened the door. Tentatively, he looked in both directions before stepping out. Suffice to say, being alone made things more difficult...he was more nervous about his mere presence there, for example.

While wandering the corridors and looking around aimlessly, he came across a few crew members. Expecting them to give him baffled or warning looks, he was partly taken aback when they all smiled instead. They all seemed genuine enough, though a little nervous...or hesitant...maybe what Parfet mentioned earlier was true after all. He wondered if he was the only one asleep through the whole announcement or something.

"Uh...hello..." he said, smiling back warmly.

One of the braver ones greeted back. "Hey there. Where are you off to?"

"Nowhere in particular...though now that I think of it, I am rather hungry..."

She then proceeded to give him directions to the cafeteria.

"My gratitude, miss," Jai said afterwards, giving a slight bow. The group whispered a little among themselves.

"So, uh..." one of them stammered, "...it's really true that you're not a Tarak?"

"Well, I really didn't know what Tarak was until yesterday..."

"And you're really from the past?"

"If all that's happened to me recently was all true, then yeah. Even I should say so myself."

"We all heard your music on the PA system yesterday as well. I think it's really nice."

"Thank you very much. That was my favorite piece; though I think it wasn't all that hard to learn."

After a few more minutes of chatter, they mentioned about already being late for something, and then walked on, waving goodbye and smiling more confidently.

Already, Jai was feeling more reassured. _'Well...I guess that I'm not gonna be arrested or anything for loitering, then...now where was the cafeteria again...? Oh yeah, this way...'_

Following the instructions, he came upon what looked more like a small canteen. It wasn't anything fancy; the place retained the overall look of the rest of the ship, aside from having a...calmer...air about it.

A person at his right greeted him as he stepped in. "Hey there, new guy! What brings you here?"

He turned, and was met by one of the pirate officers. "Uh, hello...um...Gascogne, right?" he replied, correctly pronouncing the name. "Actually, I was just looking for something to eat..."

She laughed. "You've got a good memory, you know...or maybe you're just too nice. Most of the others here call me 'Gasco'. It's maddening to hell, I tell you!"

Jai chuckled, remembering Pai's comment the previous night...or whenever that time was. "Maybe I should also start calling you 'Gasco', then."

"Don't push it, kid."

"Hey! I'm no kid, you know. I'm already twenty-three!" Jai replied in mock irritation.

Gascogne sounded only a bit surprised. "That so? Then you're a bit older than most of the others here. But we're still all kids, really..."

"I'm even older than you?"

"Guess."

Jai adjusted his glasses. "I'd saaaaay...thirty?"

She laughed again, her reaction now showing more amazement. "Maybe your intuition is as good as your fighting skill; you're short only two years. Hey, how're you at cards?"

"Sorry, I don't gamble; I prefer having a wallet with something in it...not that it'd have much use now. Besides, I've never gotten the urge to gamble anyway..."

It was her turn to feign annoyance. She snapped her fingers. "Darn...never thought of even trying it once? Hah, you don't know what you're missing, kid."

"As a matter of fact, I do...it's something called food," Jai said just as his stomach rumbled audibly.

They both laughed.

"Hey, today's special over here! This guy hasn't eaten in two thousand years!" Gascogne shouted to some personnel behind the counter. She then flashed him a thumbs-up sign. "You're okay, kid. I really know the others will get used to you too in no time."

--------------------

"You'll be staying here," Barnette said flatly.

"Well, well..." Hibiki sneered as he looked around their new living quarters. While not really luxurious, it was enough for them not to be considered 'captives' or 'prisoners'. Bunker-beds which were more comfortable-looking than those in the prison cells and minimal furnishings were present inside. "It would seem the Mejale aren't all that high and mighty after all..."

He found himself staring down the nose of Barnette's gun.

"One more comment like that and I swear..."

She was interrupted by the sub-commander. "Barnette, calm down. We will not kill these men."

"HA!" Hibiki snorted, though a bit shakily. "Don't look down on me! I could kick you all farther than the next moon!"

B.C. simply continued. "Though we can knock them out..." she said as she lobbed a small sphere at the arrogant Tarak.

"Huh?" Before Hibiki could properly react, the ball exploded right in front of his face. A small cloud of gray gas spread just around him.

"Wha...what...I'm..."

He collapsed in a heap on the floor.

"ZZZZzzzzz"

Duero simply watched the scene. "Sleeping gas?"

"Yes, though not a very effective one. He should be up in an hour or so...the effects are immediate, but don't last very long," B.C. replied.

The doctor shrugged. "Thanks all the same. He was beginning to get irritating again."

The sub-commander just nodded as she and Barnette left.

Bart stared nervously at Duero. "You're kinda scary sometimes, you know?"


	11. Of Pride, Skill and Wits

**A/N: **Oh, wow...it's been a really long time. Haha...and a really wrong time for our PC to suddenly crash on me...ah, but I'm not really here to talk about personal problems, now am I...? Shout-outs!

**Gojiro17 **– Okay, this chapter's longer than I guess any other before it... :-) Of course, I'm really not gonna kill this fic, or any others that I've already made...though it's taking a long time to complete them all (or even only one for that matter...). Anyways, thanks and good luck on them classes! Sorry if this is rather late...haha. :-)

** Brutal2003 – **Yea, I'm gonna keep this fic going until the end...which is gonna come sooner or later (probably much later, at the rate I'm writing...haha :-) Thanks for the rev!

**Godzilla2** – Character interactions...I don't think I'm delving into it very much as of these chapters; gonna get even more of that in the following ones. Anyway, it's great that you like it. :-) Many thanks!

**F00l3Al2** – Well, this is the earliest I could've updated, and I didn't interrupt a lot of schooling. :-) Thanks lots for the review!

**Azure** – Haven't got any email, but it's okay. Those are good suggestions...I'm still considering what to make the fusions for Jai exactly...I particularly like the jouster idea, tho. :-)

**Blissfully Unaware** – Sorry for not updating as soon as any of us would have wanted to. Haha... :-) Anyways, a lot of people say that "few good Vandread fics". I think this one's just as good as others out there...(I'm VERY modest...harharhar!) :-) Anyways, thanks lots for the review!

** CAMintmier – **Yea, I tend to write long fics with short chaps...kinda weird, huh:-) Glad you find the plot captivating; you also have a good ability of reading ahead into it. Haha... :-) And Meia is MOST DEFINITELY CUTE! Much better than any of the other Mejale combined! (Well, except maybe for Ezra, but she's a mother...or something...already) :-) Many thanks for the nice review!

**kayla** - Many thanks for loving the story, and Vandread as well. :-) Very sorry for a delayed update, but...oh well. :-) Thanks again for the kind review:-)

And that's that for now. I know I said "month's end" the last time, but due to unforeseen, unfortunate circumstances...well, you know. I took most of the idea for this chapter from Manga Daisuki, "Vandread Vol 1, Act 1, First Contact"...therefore, it's not 100 original...but I kinda liked it, enough to adapt it here. I tweaked it considerably, though...hope it's okay. And, uh, enjoy!

--------------------

**CHAPTER 10**

Of Pride, Skill and Wits

--------------------

An hour had passed. It was then that Hibiki awoke, feeling mildly confused. "Damn that crazy..."

He looked around. Duero and Bart were sleeping soundly.

He snorted. "Lazy bums..."

Quietly, after making sure that he was out of the drug's effect, and that nobody was around in the corridor, he slipped out. He moved stealthily, though he was rather surprised that he was able to avoid causing any ruckus the entire time.

He laughed silently to himself. _'Haha!_ _These Mejale are a joke!'_

Nearing the end of a hallway, he was caught by surprise as a pair of women turned the next corner towards him. Instinctively, he did the first thing that came to his mind: he leapt into the nearest doorway.

It was only when the door had closed fully behind him that he realized that that wasn't the best move.

Inside the room were about ten or so of the crew who seemed to be training hand-to-hand combat.

_'Great...just great...I gotta find a way to...' _He thought, frozen in his tracks.

At once, several weapons, electrically-tipped training batons, were pointed at his throat from all directions, preventing any means of escape.

_'Damn this...'_

One of them, who he recognized as the cold Dread leader, Meia, approached him. "And what are you doing sneaking around, Tarak?"

Even in the situation, Hibiki had the guts to exude defiance. "You think you scare me? I was just walking around! That isn't a crime! Besides, you can't kill me! And I helped you guys out! At least show a little respect!"

Mentally, he kept repeating to himself, _'I'm a man! I'm strong! I'm not afraid!' _although the impulse to run away screaming was very intense.

After a moment, Meia made a gesture for the others to lower their training weapons and get back to their practice. "You're so much trouble..."

Hibiki ignored the comment, though it bruised his ego a bit. He scoffed, then, walking around, took one of the training batons on the wall. "You use these for training?"

"So you got bored in your room and decided to take a little walk..." Meia said indifferently. "Although you are allowed to move about, you shouldn't be allowed to stray inside the ship by yourself, much less go where you're not supposed to go or just do anything you like."

Hibiki was starting to get a little more hotheaded. "Hey, it's not my fault that there's nothing to do there...and you Mejale think you're all so great. Don't go telling me what to do, you hear?"

"You did lose the first battle with us and are technically POW's. I don't see why you shouldn't comply; it is only fair." Meia remained calm, which made Hibiki even more annoyed.

"And another thing..." she added, "...don't act as if you're the strongest one here. You have yet to prove anything."

This made him really blow his fuse.

"Are you mocking me! Who needed whose help the last time!"

"The black Vanguard...Jai...got you out of the ship, and Dita got you your current rooms. Face it; you can't to anything by yourself. You haven't proven anything."

He raised his club and pointed it at Meia. "That's it! Get ready, Mejale! I'm not going to take that from you or anybody else!" With his last exclamation, he lunged forward without even waiting for Meia to turn and face him.

It seemed, however, that she didn't even need to. In no more than five seconds after charging, Hibiki found himself landing face-first on the hard, steel floor.

"And you're also demonstrating your cowardice..." she muttered, retracting the leg she had used to trip the Tarak.

Hibiki quickly got to his feet. "I'll show you!" He yelled as he lunged again, flailing his weapon. The strikes were avoided with little effort on Meia's part, and Hibiki remained on his feet only four seconds longer than before.

Again and again, Hibiki rushed into attack, approaching from different angles. Nonetheless, Meia easily dodged and sent him to the floor with a countermove...sometimes with the business end of the electric-baton. A small circle of girls gathered around, watching the fight intently.

"I'm...n-not...done with...you...yet..." he muttered for the umpteenth time, finding it quite difficult to stand.

Meia looked as if she hadn't exerted any effort at all. She simply sighed in response. "You still don't understand..."

In a single jump, Hibiki threw his weight forward one last time and swung wildly.

Even then, it wasn't enough to change the outcome, as Meia only sidestepped and knocked the back of his head with the electric tip of her baton.

He couldn't get up.

_'Damn! H-how...what could I...' _Hibiki thought gravely, though still holding on to one last strand of confidence in the fight. Before he knew it, he noticed Dita at his side, trying to help him up, it seemed.

And then one of the other crew members called out. "Hey! Jai!"

--------------------

It was midday, Mejale time.

Jai had finished eating a few hours before, and was loitering around the ship, getting acquainted with the place, as well as with the people. While there were still those among the pirates who didn't really seem to trust him, the general atmosphere was accommodating enough to actually be comfortable. Besides, he was making sure not to do anything that might be out of bounds.

He had reached what appeared to be a training room. Several of the crew members were practicing hand-to-hand combat. Among them were Meia and Hibiki; and it wasn't really difficult to see who was on the losing end...Hibiki was getting clobbered easily. A few others were encircled around the match, somehow signifying that this wasn't exactly commonplace. Nonetheless, it made it easier for him to get nearer unnoticed.

But still, he was eventually noticed.

"Hey! Jai!" One of them shouted out. He instantly recognized her as one of those who had greeted him earlier that morning, after he had left his own room.

Immediately, all eyes were turned to him. Even the fight between Meia and Hibiki was called to an abrupt end, with Dita kneeling right beside a dazed Hibiki, who was lying on the floor.

"Uh...hey," Jai stammered, as the sudden turn of events rather caught him off-guard. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything...just looking about the ship..."

Instantly, the Tarak sat up and pointed at Jai. "See! How about him! How come he gets to wander like that while I end up getting maltreated!"

"Huh?" Jai was struck by the comment, immediately worrying that he might have done something he wasn't supposed to.

Meia very uncharacteristically began stammering, and her icy façade faltered a bit. "That is..."

Hibiki saw this as a chance to redeem his bruised...ego. "Ha! Where's your justice now, Mejale?"

"But that's different!"

"Is it, now!"

Meanwhile, Jai worriedly arched an eyebrow. A crew member to his right gave a quick explanation as Hibiki and Meia traded retorts. He then nodded, quietly thanked her, and asserted himself. "Excuse me..."

Again, everyone turned towards him.

"Well...if I wasn't supposed to have been walking about, then I'm really sorry; I didn't know about it...and I'll accept whatever consequence for it," Jai said firmly.

Hibiki scoffed, to the annoyance of most of the other people after Jai's assertion. "Then fight her. That'd be fair enough for me," he coughed, pointing to Meia.

"It's not exactly your place to say..." Jai started.

Meia interrupted, her composure now restored. "No; I'd also like to face you in at least a practice match...just to see if you're as good as when you were in that Vanguard."

Hushed conversations echoed through the room. The general idea Jai was able to pick up from whispers that floated his way was that Meia was the best in hand-to-hand combat, with Gascogne and Barnette at close second and third, respectively, and that this 'newcomer' was surely dust in a fight.

He just smiled at the notion.

"I really don't know how I was able to pilot that Vanguard," he said, wiping his glasses, "but I can assure you that I do know martial arts, armed or otherwise."

"Meaning...you can fight well?" Hibiki asked from one side of the room, raising an eyebrow.

Jai mentally noted that 'martial art' wasn't an all-too-familiar term in this time period. "Yeah, if I do say so myself."

"Then here..." the Tarak answered, tossing his baton towards Jai while not leaving his spot on the floor.

He caught the weapon, studied it a bit, raised an eyebrow, and then began looking around. "Uh...I'd rather use another weapon..."

"What's the matter now? Gotta use a longer stick to have an advantage? You're all talk and no action whatsoever after all! You'd better just..."

Hibiki was silenced by an intimidating glare from Jai, who spoke softly, yet warningly at the same time. "No; it's just that I'm not really comfortable with the expanded electric end...and most of the time when I fight, even in practice matches, I have this reflex tendency to throw shorter weapons..."

He suddenly hurled the baton back at the arrogant pilot; the electric tip just missing the latter's head by millimeters.

"...with deadly accuracy, just like that, and rush into punching range. I could easily take somebody's head off if I got carried away," Jai continued. "And one last thing, I don't really approve of sore losers, so please try to keep quiet for now. Admit it, you lost. Try to learn from that experience."

Hibiki did as was suggested and kept to his own. Meia nodded in response to Jai's explanation.

Jai sighed and once again began looking around, scratching the back of his head. Already, he felt his annoyance fading away; it was good that his tolerance level was very high, or Hibiki would've been in even worse shape by now.

He came across a mop. "Ah, this'll do..." he said, taking said cleaning apparatus. Again, the room filled with whispers and a few snickers this time around.

It was Meia's turn to wonder. "Are you serious? A mop?"

"Of course, I am. This'll do perfectly," Jai answered, carefully unscrewing the wooden handle from the head. The resulting stick was lightweight, rather solid, and about four feet long, twice the length of the baton.

"A significant reach advantage, but you don't have an electric tip," Meia stated.

"Don't worry. I'm not really going to use the whole length, and I really, really don't want the electric tip. Haha...but it's been some time since I last had a match with anyone." He then began whirling the stick, slowly at first, then with increasing speed until finally tossing it spiraling upwards and then catching it right before it hit the ground.

"Well, that's enough for a warm-up. Ready whenever you are..." he then said, moving opposite the Dread leader and giving a bow of courtesy.

A tense silence then followed. Even the spectators, Hibiki included, grew quiet.

Half a minute passed; neither Jai not Meia moved all the while.

"Okay then..." Jai finally said, seemingly exasperated, "I'll make the first move if that's what you want..." He then assumed a fighting stance, his left hand gripping the makeshift staff at its center, and dashed forward. He was within range in a few seconds, and swung downwards, towards Meia's left shoulder.

She anticipated the lunge, and hopped to the right before thrusting the baton straight at her opponent's midsection...

But right before contact, Jai had leaned back and ducked under the blow, his head barely grazing the electrically-charged tip. Meia realized her miss at once, and brought the baton downwards...

Yet once again, Jai was able to leap back just before being hit, drawing gasps from some of those watching. Just as quickly, the Mejale retreated a bit and readied for a counterattack. None came.

Jai was once again standing several paces from her, though he was now spinning the stick in figure-of-8 motions around himself. "Wow...two close calls right at once. I'd better be more careful..." he said, smiling. He didn't seem to be worried at all.

This unnerved Meia a little. _'It's as if this is all a game for him...shouldn't he be at least a bit shaken up after those two near hits?'_ She then shook her head and concentrated instead on the fight. By now, the crowd was growing livelier.

Again, Jai took the same fighting stance when he realized Meia wasn't going to attack. "Oh very well...here I go again..." He charged, moving even faster now, and closed the distance in half the time.

_'Huh...what the!'_ Meia didn't expect the sudden change in timing, and she found herself nimbly evading blows left and right. She was forced to raise her weapon to block a particularly quick blow to her upper side; but Jai swiftly altered the stick's trajectory and tripped her instead.

Though caught off-guard for a second, Meia deftly rolled backwards and to the side, putting considerable distance again between Jai and herself. While she was panting somewhat, her opponent seemed only very slightly winded, if not at all.

Jai was spinning the stick again in figures-of-8, this time with two hands. "Hey...you're pretty good. That trip usually finishes the match..."

"You're not using the entire length of the weapon..." Meia observed. Indeed, Jai had been holding the stick at its middle the whole time.

"Yeah, well...it's the fighting style I'm really good at. That's another reason why I didn't like to use the baton," Jai explained.

_'In that case...'_ Meia thought, _'The reach advantage isn't a factor now. It'd be best to finish this fight as quickly as possible...'_ It was now her who ran forward and let loose a flurry of attacks. Everybody was cheering even louder.

"Haha...now it gets interesting..." Jai remarked, as he simply stood his ground and either blocked or dodged each of Meia's numerous strikes. The electric tip came as close as a centimeter to his face, but not once did it ever graze flesh and cause damage.

_'Darn...'_ Meia cursed mentally, more out of frustration that actual spite, as she jumped backwards, all of her attacks having been eluded one way or another. _'...he's really good...'_

"Is that all?" Jai said tauntingly. He was again spinning the stick about himself, now faster and more intricately than before, as if to warn that the fight was nearing its climax. "I was sort of expecting a bit more..." He was provoking her, much like she had done to Hibiki earlier; try to get the opponent to let his or her guard down in the haze of blind rage.

But both Jai and Meia knew that the tactic wasn't really going to work. Perhaps it was just to teach a certain loser earlier a small lesson...

...in one corner, Hibiki sneezed suddenly. "Darn it..." he mumbled.

"I'm not going to hold back now," Meia said, grinning a little. Jai was good in combat; that much was now very apparent...even better than when he was piloting the Vanguard, she concluded.

_'But victory isn't going to come all that easily, not even for him,'_ she also resolved, still not giving up the fight.

Jai let out a little chuckle. "Is that so? Then I won't either..."

This time, both lunged at the same time, with same intent: to put an end to the fight once and for all. Meia began the offensive, launching attacks in rapid succession. Jai seemed to anticipate the barrage, as he began stepping back almost immediately and evading each strike.

The whole time, the audience watched anxiously, including Hibiki and Dita.

Seeing an opening after an extensive forward thrust of Meia's baton, Jai then took the offensive; this time using faster, though slightly more controlled, strikes that came in such quick succession that even Meia had a hard time blocking.

_'This is even more difficult that before...oh shoot!'_ she thought, before one swing struck the baton and sent it flying from her hands.

Wasting no time, Jai swiftly dashed forward, to behind Meia, and held one end of the stick held across her neck, much like that of an assassin with a blade.

"Game over...there's no more escape," Jai whispered. In response, Meia simply sighed and lowered her head, signaling defeat.

Jai then also lowered his stance and, walking opposite his opponent, bowed once more, as he did at the start. "Nice match," he said, smiling.

"Y-yeah, you too..." Meia replied, slightly smiling back, though still a little out of breath.

Everybody was silent. And then, little by little, applause began until everyone was soon clapping and cheering.

_'Haha...kinda reminds me of the reaction with the piano...'_ Jai mused as he put back the handle in its place.

He felt a pat on the shoulder, "Hey!" It was Hibiki.

"Er...nice work on that battle, man. I mean, you beat that Mejale monster, no problem," his words were unhurried, but excitement was in his tone of voice.

"While you couldn't?" Jai asked jokingly, though with a hint of sarcasm in his own tone.

"Hey; I'm not really all that concentrated, all right? Cut me some slack, sheesh..." he whined, although probably expecting the conversation to take this particular turn. He immediately decided to change the subject. "But in any case, I'd expect you to be as good when we're out fighting those Drea...uh, enemies, huh?" he said, almost mentioning 'Dreads' instead of their 'common enemy'...still not used to being allies with the Mejale.

"Agreed...if you learn to behave yourself more while on this ship," Jai answered. Though neither was actually in a position to harbor expectations, it was for the common, larger good anyway.

Hibiki made a face.

"He's right, you know..." Meia interrupted, perhaps listening in on the conversation.

Hibiki made an even uglier face. "Oh well...all right. But I won't go so far as to be a slave here or something...I've got my pride...wha!" He almost jumped in surprise as Dita pulled him in a tight hug.

"Hey, leader!" she hollered, though keeping a tone of respect, "I'd wanna show him around and stuff. Would that be okay?"

After some silent deliberation on her part, Meia shrugged. "All right...as long as he doesn't do anything stupid..."

"Yay! C'mon Mr. Alien!" Dita cheered. As he was being dragged out, Hibiki fumed, "Hey! Who are you calling stupid...?" He was cut off by the door shutting behind them.

"He's just too brash...a lot of potential, though. He just needs to focus more," Jai began, initially referring to Hibiki's combat skills. He then continued, addressing Meia this time, "Anyway, you fight really well. It's been really awhile since I've had to get a bit serious in sparring."

"But you still won. You're clearly much better," Meia answered rather cheerfully, compared to her usual self.

Jai laughed. "True...though maybe next time I won't be so lucky..."

Meia gave a wry smile. "Don't be silly; you weren't even trying earlier."

"So this means I could still walk about the ship and such as I'd please? Without doing anything out of bounds, of course..."

Her smile turned into one that was more pleasant as she looked at him straight in the face. "You weren't under any prohibition in the first place, so don't worry about it. Well, see you later...and...thanks," she said as she stood and left.

"Uh...thanks also..." Jai stammered after her; then he likewise left, heading for his own room, where a shower and nap awaited him; he had just about enough adventures for the day...

--------------------

Meia was met by Jura along the ship's corridor.

"You seem to be losing your touch, getting beaten like that...and by someone who is to be considered..."

The Dread leader simply walked on, ignoring her haughty crewmate.

"Hey! Weren't you even listening to me!"

Meia stopped and faced Jura. "It's not that I've become less that I already am...it's just that he was much more confident in himself than I was in myself. I'd do better to learn from him..." she said in a not-so-icy tone of voice, smiling as she did so, and then continued on her way.

Jura was slightly taken aback. "Wha...what the heck was that supposed to mean?"


	12. Names and History

**A/N: **And we FINALLY have an update!!! Joy:-) I'm really, really sorry for the long time it took, but...y'know...

**Iketani** - I think the battle scene was a little lacking...though okay overall. :-) Glad you also enjoyed the manga. It was kickass:-)  
**Godzilla2** - Well, I think this chap was the longest...haha. Apologies for the late update...  
**Hyousa-Youkai** - Technically, Filipinos are Asians (in South East Asia), though the country is an archipelago in the Pacific. :-) We're more of the former. Hm...I guess I was influenced by Himura in making a character...though I guess I should be more original, huh:-)  
**Ryu** - Thanks for the review! This story's going to see its end, sooner or later...maybe later. :-)  
**noname z** - Well, here's moremoremoremore...though not as much as even I'd like to add...thanks for the review:-) As for the pairing...well, we'll see. :-) (Note: Meia's my favorite character too)

And there we go for now...I'm currently working on this particular fic (alongside all my work...), and probably expect less time interval for the next update. Thanks and enjoy:-)

------------------------------

**CHAPTER 11**

Names and History

--------------------

The ship's halls were bustling with activity. To keep the team spirits high and energetic, Magno had announced earlier that a contest would be held to determine the name of their 'new' vessel. As of the latest, the prize was an all-expenses paid shopping spree at Mejale.

Parfet wandered around gathering responses while the rest of the crew was scrounging up ideas. "All right! One by one! Hey, don't get all over-excited!" she yelled as she was mobbed upon entering the mess hall.

"Bloom Garden!" "Starship!" "Mejaleist!" The 'suggestions' were verbally hurled with reckless abandon until even Parfet's glasses began to swirl. "Wha...wha...wha..."

Then one voice boomed over the rest. "Settle down! All of you!" Commanding, yet without malevolence, and very clearly masculine. The speaker earned complete order and silence, as well as several annoyed frowns from the majority.

Not long afterwards, Parfet was able to collect the necessary information, in this case being the name suggestions for the ship. She made her way over to her rescuer before whispering, "Uh...thanks for earlier, doctor..."

Duero shook his head. "Just 'Duero' will do."

"O-kay, Duero then. What're you doing here?"

"I do need nourishment..."

"Oh, yeah...uh, yeah! Anyway, any suggestion for the ship's name?"

"How could a shopping spree in Mejale benefit me?" He sounded almost sarcastic, had there been a little more emotion in his voice.

"Good point. I suppose we could change the prize, if you'd win. How about...let's say...a medical...uh, upgrade, or something..."

A silent lapse followed for a few moments.

"...Polymorphism..." Duero finally mumbled.

"Eh? Pardon?"

--------------------

"A ship-naming contest?" Hibiki sounded as if the whole idea was stupid and a complete waste of time.

Dita nodded. "Yep! Why don't we all join? Who knows...you might win, Mr. Alien!"

She, along with Meia, Jai, Hibiki and Ezra, was walking to the refectory for lunch. While at first it had been just Dita dragging Hibiki along; Meia and Ezra joined them soon after; they then bumped into Jai coming out of his room about to head in the same direction.

"A contest?" Jai echoed, though more out of surprise compared to Hibiki. "And what's the prize, may I ask? Sorry, I was asleep," he queried, apparently also failing to receive the earlier announcement.

"W-ell..." Dita began, trying to remember.

Ezra answered instead. "It's a shopping spree in Mejale, though I think it's still negotiable...with the approval of the Boss, of course."

"A shopping spree?!" Hibiki snorted, with an air of his Mejale-hating side, which hadn't showed up all that much recently compared to the start of his affiliation with the pirates. "And what good would that do to us men, huh?"

"Hmm...he does have a point..." Ezra pondered out loud.

Jai interjected. "But aren't there some things there that could at least be of use for either men or women...?" He began hesitantly, as if he wasn't totally sure of what he was saying.

"Yeah? Like what?!" Hibiki retorted mockingly.

"I dunno...books, electronic devices, musical instruments, those sorts of generic stuff..."

"That's right!" Dita burst out. "There's a lot of stuff like that as well! And I'm sure even the aliens will be able to use them." To her last statement, Hibiki cringed visibly, though Dita didn't seem to notice.

Ezra giggled. "True...it's just that I tend to get this notion that 'shopping' is more for clothes, accessories, and things like that. Good observation, Jai."

"Well, I'm sure it's still something that I'm not going to like," Hibiki scoffed, still utterly irritated about the idea.

A lapse in the conversation brought a not too uncomfortable few moments of silence. Finally, it was broken with Meia's question, "What name would you suggest the ship, Jai?"

It seemed like he was expecting the query, or that he had been giving the subject some thought. "Hmm..." he looked up at the ceiling, trying to decide. "...I guess I'd call it 'Avatar', like my model jet fighter back home."

"A jet fighter, huh?" Hibiki intruded, "Sounds cool. There were war fighters during your time already?"

"Of course! I wasn't from that far back into the past! Anyway, yea...there were lots already, for several years. Actually, my model jet is of an American Harrier, the only jet fighter at the time capable of vertical lift-off. It ran subsonic, though, a tad slower than other jet fighters. It's my favorite, more for issues of reliability than efficiency."

"Such an impressive name, though...American Harrier..." Ezra said contemplatively.

"Actually, it's just 'Harrier'..." Jai then proceeded to explain about the seven continents of the 21st century Earth, how they came about from the massive Pangaea, then two consequent continents Laurasia and Gondwanaland thousands of years since...about the oceans and seas, tectonic plates and volcanic eruptions. His audience was eager and attentive, spurred on by his animated narratives. Jai was about to begin on the topics of life and evolution when he noticed they were standing outside the mess hall.

"...but that's for another time...I'm sorry, I got carried away telling stories..." he said rather sheepishly. The others, Hibiki included, insisted his stories were anything but tiresome.

They all stepped in and found Parfet in what seemed like casual conversation with Duero at one of the corner tables.

In truth, it was the mechanic who noticed them first. "Hey guys!" She yelled as she waved the newcomers over to join the physician and herself.

"That is...if you don't mind..." she whispered to her companion.

"It's okay..." he mumbled back, shrugging for added emphasis. She then resumed her waving, stopping only when Dita, who led the group while dragging Hibiki along, neared, after having already gotten their rations. Fortunately, the table was long enough to accommodate them all.

"So," Parfet began as they ate, "any suggestions for the ship's name?"

Hibiki mumbled under his breath, "Oh brother...not that again..." Even so, he barely winced as he received a deft kick to the shin courtesy of Jai. Nobody else noticed, though they silently wondered why he became rather quieter from that point on.

One by one, they gave their ideas – a polite "Avatar" from Giles, a pleasant "Merger" from Ezra, a cheerful "Happy Alien-ship" from Dita, a rather forced "Black Hole" from Hibiki, and even a placid "Duty" from Meia.

The scientist jotted down all of their names and entries. "Okay! This'll do very nicely; I really think one of these will win for sure!"

Their meal continued with random chit-chat for a while, but eventually the discussion turned to the distant past – more specifically, Jai's former present time.

"What do you guys want to know about?" Jai asked, getting ready for a rather lengthy discourse ahead.

Several suggestions were made, but Ezra gave a suggestion everyone eventually agreed on. "Why don't you start from the beginning again? We have enough time for a long story, and we're more complete now, besides."

And so from the beginning did he begin, all the way to the Big Bang theory on how the universe itself was created. He talked about the formation of planets, and, in particular, the formation of Earth and how it had once become a place suitable for life to thrive in. He went on to discuss the beginnings of life, the Darwinian theory of Evolution, and the coming of creatures that were larger than life itself, of the cataclysmic meteor rain, and the eventual extinction of almost all living beings. He then spoke of eons of rejuvenation, wherein new organisms sprang forth and inhabited the Earth, of the gradual emergence of an intelligent animal that came to be known as 'man', and how this remarkable species ultimately conquered the entire planet.

Throughout the narrative, the listeners grew in number, with other members of the pirate crew gathering around to listen. Jai didn't mind the least about having more audience; he figured it'd save him time in explaining again later on. So he merely continued on the much more salient points – not everything that happened, of course – until he had caught up with his own era, his own 'present'. This was where he stopped.

By the time he had come to the end, his voice had become a little cracked; it was only then that he realized that he had been talking for more than an hour. Before he could reach for his glass of water, he found one being offered to him...by Meia, who was seated to his right.

He gave her an amiable smile as he took the offered drink, downing it in one gulp. "Thanks," he said, sounding much better. "Though I find it a little unsettling, ranting on about the 'outer space' we knew so little about during our time, granted our...uh, primitive technology then, to you people who are so used to traveling in it all the time. I suppose the origins of the universe have finally been found out?"

Not surprisingly, Parfet answered him. "You know, it is still the Big Bang that remains the most feasible theory about the universe even until now; I'm rather surprised that it had been around during all those eons ago. Anyway, there have obviously been a lot more discoveries, I presume, since the time you come from, but I'm not really sure how much."

"Hey, there weren't any spacecraft this sophisticated back then, that's for sure," Jai quipped.

--------------------

The pirates' Boss was also listening in on the story of their guest through one of the ship's surveillance cameras. "A fascinating story, don't you think, B.C.?"

"Indeed. It seems to collaborate with the notion he's from the past..." the second-in-command answered.

"Yes, I suppose; though I was already rather convinced after his little performance at the hangar earlier. I'd wager not even a fully-trained Tarak scholar or whatever could perform like he did."

B.C. only shrugged in response.

"Oh, and by the way," Magno added, "let's have Parfet come over with the suggestions later; we're going to have that decision before the day is done."

--------------------

"The contest is over?" Jura exclaimed. She hadn't given an entry yet, and was appalled when the PA system announced that a name had already been chosen for the ship. It was close to the end of the day.

"Apparently so," Barnette concluded nonchalantly. She hadn't bothered to give an entry; and had said that she didn't mind whatever the ship was called – it would still be their ship anyway.

The announcement went on. "...and the raffle-winning name is 'Nirvana', given by the Boss! Congratulations!"

"There was a raffle?!" the blonde Dread pilot sounded even more aghast. The fact that it was the Boss' entry that won raised some doubts whether the contest wasn't entirely devoid of any bias.

"That, it would seem..." now, Barnette didn't sound as casual. Still, she shrugged the matter aside, putting it to coincidence. "In any case, we should expect a banquet sometime tomorrow..."


	13. Learning

**A/N: **Another long-overdue update. If it wasn't for my PC breaking down...oh well. Let's just be glad I was able to retrieve the data. Haha...

**rIOko** - He isn't? Hmm...I guess so...let's make him more annoying...or not...I dunno. Thanks for the review!  
**J-Bob the Brave** - Yea well...the idea kinda does present itself, huh? School's just crazy nowadays...but I still write! Thanks!  
**jericho Presbitero** - Cool. Try ko tapusin (I'll try to finish)...I've got 2 weeks semestral break now. Hohoh. Astig!  
**Max Knight** - Vandread Library seems to have moved...hmm...hope it gets put up soon. Anyways, thanks! Sorry for a long-delayed update!

Ah well...here's the next chapter...enjoy!

-------------------------

**CHAPTER 12**

Learning

-------------------------

"AH-CHOO!!!"

Jai looked up from the medical journal he was reading, something he had 'brought along' his time-travel. It was only seconds ago that he realized studying them intensively would be futile, as those kinds of 'new discoveries' weren't really all that new in this time period, and the technology was primitive compared to what he had on-hand at the present. He had come to the conclusion that such reading materials would be considered 'nice-to-know' stuff.

Nonetheless, a sneeze that bad-sounding was still one of the more common signs of a cold; besides, upon ocular inspection, Paiway looked like she had one. "You okay?" He asked.

The little girl 'sniff'-ed before sneezing once more. Rubbing her nose with a gloved hand, she smiled sheepishly.

"Been having that long?" He asked, and Pai shook her head. Further questions showed no fever, a slight feeling of weakness, and, much to her embarrassment, an abundance of mucus secretion.

He chuckled, and took the time to walk to the newly-stocked medicine cabinet and procure a tablet of decongestant. "Take this after lunch, get some rest, and drink lots of fluids. You should start to feel better. I'll give you another tablet this evening if you still feel that bad." He handed her some tissues as well. "And please don't use your hands to wipe that off."

She looked a little surprised. "You can tell for sure what sickness I have and what medicine to give just like that?"

"Well, this case is pretty simple," Jai replied, "and besides, I studied the profession for almost ten years, and cardio-pulmonary is my personal favorite." Paiway still seemed a little nonplussed; Jai had to ask, "What's so unusual about making a diagnosis like that?"

As he was asking, Duero and Parfet entered the infirmary as Jai was speaking, and the doctor surmised the situation. "It is very unconventional, not to mention difficult, these days to make a diagnosis and give treatment meds with only basic interview and observation to go by," he explained matter-of-factly. "It is considered standard operating procedure for all patients to undergo examination in a calibrated and properly programmed medical diagnosis scanning machine."

"A what?" The most sophisticated equipment Jai knew of was the Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or MRI; and even then, it was only a help, a verification of whatever diagnosis the doctor would consider based on examination and clinical judgment.

"An MDS, ribbit," Pai said, working her words through muffled M's and N's. She had a frog-puppet on her right hand. "It scans the whole body – everything from blood, skin, nerves, and all other organs – then gives a detailed diagnosis of the sickness and how to treat it best, ribbit."

The Tarak physician smiled, though his mild surprise was evident. "I see they are also being used on Mejale, then."

"Sure, ribbit! Even nurse trainees like Pai know that, ribbit."

Jai shook his head and spoke. "A machine that can completely examine a person's entire body system inside and out, accurately identify the correct syndrome or illness and provide an effective treatment plan for such?"

"You've pretty much summed it up yourself," Parfet answered.

"Wouldn't that then render physicians...obsolete?"

"Only as far as examinations and diagnoses are concerned," Duero replied, "Surgical operations and the administration of meds are still carried out by the Tarak...or Mejale, for that matter."

"And I would use the term 'less efficient' instead of 'obsolete'," the scientist said.

Duero nodded. "Manual observation is a slow and tedious process in comparison; besides, given the sheer number of diseases, it would be impossible to say for certain which one the patient might have."

_'Good point,'_ Jai pondered._ 'Making the jump to space and to other planets, there's no telling how many more diseases have been added to those innumerable already existing before. I almost went crazy memorizing through med school...'_

"If you'd like, ribbit, we could give you a demonstration, ribbit," Pai suggested.

"Really? Okay..."

They all walked a short distance to the far wall of the infirmary, in-between the life-support and sick-bed area. As it turned out, there were more beds now; those from little-used rooms were allocated in case of casualties, what with all the fighting going on lately. Consequently, the place looked just a little less spacious.

The MDS machine looked like a rather sophisticated – and less bulky – MRI. Jai had to remind himself for the umpteenth time that he was dealing with technology thousands of years more advanced than what he was used to, especially when it came to a clinical setting; it was still a little hard to get used to.

"I'll be the patient," the young nurse announced, finally removing the hand puppet. She carefully settled herself supine on the machine, while Parfet and Duero managed the controls. "You do know how to operate one, right?" the nurse-patient asked Duero.

"It looks almost exactly like the ones on Tarak, in truth," There was more than a hint of approval in his reply. "There shouldn't be any problem."

Jai simply stood in amazement, though peering at the assortment of buttons and screens. _'The interface looks easy enough to manage,'_ he mulled. Most of the variables were pretty straightforward, such as 'O2 saturation', 'CSF analysis' and 'cardiac output'. Some of the others, however, 'blue-dye reaction rate', for example, perhaps required more study on his part.

"Please keep still while the scanning is being done," Duero instructed; probably part of the S.O.P.

He watched as the machine was activated. A glass capsule enclosed where the patient, Pai, was lying still. A number of sensors that seemed embedded in the glass, yet at the same time separated from it – it was hard to discern which was which, even looking closely – revolved and circled around her. Jai concluded that, indeed, no amount of non-invasive human scrutiny could examine as well as this. It was over in just more than ten minutes – a bit slow, Duero mumbled.

Pai hopped down and anxiously awaited the results with the rest. A minute passed before a sheet of paper was printed out.

Duero took it and read. "Patient is suffering from nasal congestion and sinusitis, of viral pathology, probably streptococcus. Non-life-threatening. Suggesting primary treatment of water therapy and oral decongestant after meals." The list of specific medications that followed was rather lengthy, and he did not bother to continue.

Pai looked wonderingly at Jai. "You got it right even without the MDS!" For all her reaction, one would've thought Jai had worked a miracle.

He smiled, inwardly pleased that good 'old' medical training hadn't failed him even in this advanced day and age. "Like I said, the case was really simple. But now that I think about it, given all of the new possible causes of diseases and all, I could've been giving the wrong medication or something." He added the last part while browsing the list given to him by Duero – he didn't recognize all but three of the meds, and those were generic names; most of the others were probably brand names, he thought.

She still looked awed. "Only the best health experts can say for sure without the MDS! It's amazing; thank you so much!" She then left the infirmary, probably to go eat and take her medicine.

"Is it that big a deal?" Jai asked after the child had stepped out.

"You can say that every precaution and care is being taken when it comes to sickness and health," Parfet answered.

Duero added. "Not to mention the numerous cases of malpractice and negligence more than several decades ago, which is primarily the reason why more Tarak...and Mejale, I suppose –" Parfet nodded "– relied on machines, which are both exceedingly accurate and objective. I should say they aren't particularly dissatisfied with how things have been going since."

Jai nodded also, more in understanding than in confirmation. "Duero," he asked, "how long does it take to study to become a doctor?"

He thought for a second before replying, "Three to four years total; perhaps five if you happen to absorb information a little slower."

"Four years?! That's only half...actually, less than half of the time we spend in study and experience!" Jai exclaimed. "And I thought you just looked young!"

"I am already seventeen," the other remarked almost dryly.

"Okay...it's just so...different," Jai found himself nodding again. _'Apparently people have to mature at a very early age nowadays; it's almost sad...' _Another question popped into his head. "How about those who are injured, for example, like in battle? Do all of them take this machine-scan?"

"In the case of trauma," Duero said, "as you probably know, it is much easier to identify the mechanism of injury, and more urgent to stabilize and treat, should there be a need to; the same is true for first-aid and other emergency cases. Strictly speaking, the MDS is normally only S.O.P. in cases where treatment is not immediately imperative. Isn't that right?" He added, turning to Parfet.

"That's how it's done here and in Mejale, as far as I know," the mechanic shrugged. "I'm afraid I'm not all that familiar with medical procedures and all."

"So emergency med hasn't changed as much," Jai remarked to himself. "Uh, you don't suppose you could teach me how to use this MDS, doc?"

Duero smiled; it was the first time Jai had seen him do so. "Like I said, it shouldn't be a problem...doc."

--------------------

A lone figure trudged the corridors of the pirate ship, seemingly unaware of neither direction nor destination, face grim with a troubled expression. _'Nobody else could have been doing it but me...but how? I mean, even being helmsman and all...I've never flown as much as a transport ship before! How could I have made this – Nirvana was it? – move?!'_

"Do you need anything, Bart?"

His head jerked up, and he found himself in the bridge. He put on a surprised yet sour face, mostly because it was the truth. _'Aw, great...I did have to walk in here, of all places, huh?'_ Thankfully, only the usual personnel were present – with the exception of Ezra – the Boss, the Sub-Commander, and the three ship operators...one even in a silly teddy bear suit. No Barnette, thankfully, or any other really violent Mejale pirate. It took another question to realize it was B.C. who was addressing him.

"Uh, no...not really...I mean..." he stammered, inadvertently turning his eyes towards the supposed navigation contraption at the room's center. He sighed audibly, for three possible reasons: firstly, that he was relieved that the device was real and not only a figment of imagination; secondly, that he was upset that the device had been real and that he might be called to operate it as he had done once; and lastly, that he was in hopelessly big trouble for whatever the Mejale had against him this time.

It was Magno who spoke. "The last time...you fell into that hole right there, into the glowing sphere."

"Uh, huh," he said absently, still transfixed.

"Since then, we have been able to control this ship's movements a little better by ourselves. Now, whether your antic had something to do with it, I don't really know. In any case, the movement hasn't been that refined or responsive as during that battle."

He remembered, perhaps a little all too well for his own liking.

--------------------

_During the last battle..._

Upon reaching the bridge, ready to offer whatever help he could – he just as seriously considered running off to a corner and hiding – Bart was thrown off his feet by a slight tremor...oh, all right, his left foot tripped over his right as he scrambled through; the bottom line was that he skidded along the smooth floor before plunging headfirst through the gap in the floor. It felt more like passing through a portal than actually falling, though.

Surrounded by a blue glowing light, he could see everything that was happening around the ship. Enemies whizzed past, both Vanguards and Dreads executed formations, and a laser beam was headed straight for him!

Acting upon pure instinct, he leapt to one side...and somehow felt the whole pirate ship lurch in the same direction, so that he didn't collide with the surrounding sphere.

He was, however, too panic-stricken to take notice.

"I don't wanna dieeeeee!" He screamed, backing up. Again the ship moved in the same direction, but he was hardly aware.

A com-link appeared somewhere to his left, snapping him out of his mindless screaming. It was Amarone. "Tarak! What the...the...the..." was all she could say. It took him one moment to sense that she wasn't quite looking at his face anymore, another moment to peer down at himself, and even another to realize that all his clothes were missing...

...and yet another moment to properly react.

"How dare you...! Don't look at me!!!" He tried to twist and cover himself up, though he knew his dignity would never be the same again. In moving this time, he was able to notice that the pirate vessel also shifted.

The Boss' face popped up in a different link. "Hohoho...it would seem that this new machine was not just for show after all," her voice was a mixture of approval and amusement, "but I have to say that your decency at the moment is absolutely lacking."

"Hey! Don't – YOWCH!" A bullet grazed his side and a flash of pain seared through, nothing serious but he still couldn't hold back a whimper.

"We've been hit on the right, Boss," was Belvedere's audible report.

Magno stood from her place above and hollered toward the sphere where Bart was floundering. "Come on, helmsman! You're supposed to be navigating! Is that all you're capable of?!" She sounded more amused than anything else.

"You don't have to remind me! Besides, it's not you who's getting hurt here!" Despite his angry tone, Bart looked as focused as ever on keeping the ship – and himself – from taking damage.

Every movement, every shift of his weight, even every twitch of his fingers, produced a movement of the Nirvana. In a short span of time, he was able to maneuver the ship faster and more deftly. _'This isn't like the systems back in training,'_ he thought, really getting into the task, _'it's so much...easier!' _

The emergence of the two Vanguards from the hangar also helped make his job easier, as the enemies became more preoccupied with fighting the smaller Tarak and Mejale combat vessels. "Hm...I guess Hibiki ended up fighting after all...but who could be inside the other one...?" Bart wondered out loud.

"Even we have yet to learn that..." a voice sounded from behind, making him jump and the Nirvana to jerk upward.

"Hey! Don't get over-excited!" Magno scolded, interrupting herself. "As I was saying, even we do not know that...but it should turn out all right, if he is to be believed."

"He...?" Bart sounded absolutely incredulous. "Duero?"

The pirate boss looked just about to slap him. "Weren't you listening? It isn't the physician; he is at the infirmary. We do not know for sure yet, but I have a feeling I already do..."

He was a little less skeptical now. "You don't mean..."

"Yes, I do mean. He is missing from the sick-bed, and probably in better condition now. Well...perhaps in a better condition than you, at least."

"I TOLD YOU TO STOP LOOKING!!!"

--------------------

Of course, the part about being naked was disturbing, but what really struck him was what came after the initial adrenaline rush of piloting the ship and dodging projectiles: how was he able to move the ship in the first place?

"What I really want to know is how I was...I mean, was I the only one able to move it like that?" His face was devoid of all comedic features. He was in a pondering mood now.

"As a matter of fact, yes," was Magno's reply, with neither disappointment nor surprise. "I've had five girls go in, but they said it was like jumping into a bathtub. I'm guessing it wasn't like water for you, right?"

Bart nodded. "Definitely not...I could even breathe in there easily. It felt like...floating, as if you were in a bubble or something like that."

"I see...entirely different," she uttered, and then stretched her arms upwards after a few moments, addressing Bart. "Oh well...nothing we could do about that now, right? I suppose you are indeed the only one who could navigate well enough when needed."

He puffed out his chest instinctively, apparently proud, yet at the same time a little apprehensive at so huge a responsibility.

"In any case," Magno went on, "let's hope those mechanical monstrosities don't return anytime soon; it'll be Christmas in two days...and nobody's shown any initiative to start decorating already! I should have a word or two with the entire crew!"


	14. Holiday

**A/N: **It's been a very long time; and this update is also very, very late! Instead of waiting a whole year to upload this, I decided to just do it now, and wish everyone very belated happy holidays.

**TenWings **and **Knives91** - School has been a botch lately. Thanks for reading and appreciating the story, and I apologize this was the earliest I could have gotten it up.

**Max Knight** - Yeah, I'm noticing that there's quite a lot of drama going on...guess I'm being affected by the drama all around me recently. And I'm sorry but this chapter is another filler. I'm actually having some trouble really progressing the story; chances are I'll to get to it for the next update.

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**CHAPTER 13**

Holiday

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The pirate leader Magno Vivan was no less imposing even in the early hours of what many considered a busy day in-the-making. She did not utter a word, merely stood watch, yet the crew was in a flurry fixing up decorations, cooking the food, and generally getting the entire ship ready for the Christmas holiday.

_'A holiday from what?'_ Jai wondered out of the blue. He was carrying a huge box of assorted trinkets en route to the bridge.

As of late, more and more people have been visiting the clinic, asking for him. As it turned out, word got around that the newcomer was an especially skilled clinician, able to heal any known disease or condition with his bare hands! Thus, any and all cases of different kinds – from bruises to burns, body aches and even a few conditions only a Mejale could have in this time period – were brought for him to resolve. Duero had been an immense help, cautiously 'assisting' Jai (though in actuality working somewhat more on his own). Both physicians worked efficiently, and ended the last consultation in time for Magno's announcement of 'having the entire ship ready for Christmas...or else!'

Without a doubt, Pai was definitely behind the rumors, which definitely spread faster than wildfire! Repercussions would have to be made...

...but for now, a lot of work was to be done, both in the clinic and outside. Besides, it was Christmastime!

_'Surely a time of forgiveness, huh?'_ Jai thought, wryly, though he was not bitter at the turn of events. Helping the sick and injured as a doctor was what he decided to do in life, and he was able to carry out that job even here, thousands of years in the future.

_'What is surprising, though, is that Christmas still exists until this time...' _

"Whoa!" His thoughts were interrupted when somebody bumped into him from the side. Owing to quick reflexes and good balance, both he and the box remained upright and intact.

"Why don't you watch where you're going, you..." The other person's irritated tone faded quickly.

"I'm sorry...I've been daydreaming and didn't notice you, uh, Jura was it?"

The blond pirate was looking up from where she was currently seated on the floor, unexpectedly wearing a scowl; Jai had thought that anger had gone with the earlier manner of voice. "Daydreaming! Of all the useless reasons to be careless!" She quickly got up and dusted herself off before storming away.

_'What's her problem...?'_ Jai wondered, _'...and she isn't even carrying anything. Oh well...'_ He filed another item on the forgive-and-forget list in his head.

"She's just a little high-strung...it happens occasionally," Meia explained, seemingly appearing all of a sudden beside Jai. "Heading for the bridge?" She was also carrying a box of decorations, hers smaller.

He nodded, hiding the all-of-a-sudden rapid beating of his heart...probably from the surprise of her suddenness. He managed a stable, good-natured smile. "That was nothing; I've forgotten about it already. You're a mind reader now?"

"That, and you were talking out loud just now," she replied, peering at him at the corner of her eye.

_'I was?' _He thought; then wondered if he was talking out loud this time. No sound from his mouth.

Still, Meia seemed to hear him. "That's right...besides, how can I read something that you've forgotten, or something that wasn't on your mind in the first place?"

He stopped in mid-step for a just moment, considering her point, before again falling in cadence. "You know, somehow that makes perfect sense."

Meia shook her head. She looked a little worried, and a little amused at the same time. "You seem a little out of it today..."

"Do I?" Jai replied. That was definitely audible, not just a thought. "Must've been all the work at the clinic..."

"There was quite a crowd there earlier, come to think of it," Meia considered, "you must have been very busy."

Jai smiled. "Hey, it's part of the job description; actually, it's pretty much the same at the clinic where I used to have my training and all, though of course not all my patients were female."

"Fema-...oh you mean like us Mejale, as compared to the Tarak."

"Yes, that's right," Jai nodded. "It still takes some getting used to my terminology, huh?"

"Now and then, but I think I'm generally starting to get accustomed to it."

There was silence for a bit. The bridge was still some ways off, but the gradually more elaborate decorations along the corridor indicated the right direction. Jai noticed the predominance of the two colors most associated with the season even during his own time.

"I see the colors of Christmas are still the same – red and green," he stated.

"Yet another thing handed down since your time?" Meia asked, looking only a little surprised.

"I suppose it ought to be..."

She continued. "Then perhaps the tradition of decorating a tree was something you also used to do?"

"Most definitely," Jai was sure he looked even more surprised than her at finding out for how long the tradition stood. _'There must also be a lot of pine trees on their own planets,'_ he thought...then remembered an area of the ship that very closely resembled a small park, complete with a water fountain.

_'I still must be a little out of it, as she said...'_ he wondered to himself, shaking his head a little.

"It's okay if you don't know; you don't have to scramble your head over it," he heard Ezra say all of a sudden on his other side.

"Wha?! Huh? How did-? Don't know what?"

She chuckled. "Oh, I'm sorry if I startled you. I'm also heading for the bridge..."

Jai managed a smile. "That's okay...I was just a little distracted, I guess. Uh, what were you asking again?"

"Yes...I was wondering how that tradition even began; the one about decorating a tree during Christmas."

Having something concrete to focus on prevented Jai's thoughts from wandering much. "If I remember right, it has its distant roots as some sort of ancient belief of tree-worshipping. You remember those things I said awhile back about the different continents of the Earth?"

"Yes; seven of them, right?" Ezra answered, and Meia only nodded.

"That's right. The modern tradition began in Europe some five hundred years before my time. Evergreens, or those trees that don't lose their pines even when the weather gets cold, were the trees used. Though at first only simple decorations were used on the tree, as the practice flourished through different places, it evolved, along with technology, and became more colorful and grandiose. But throughout all that time, it carried the same message of faith and hope, of charity and goodness for all."

Jai's two companions were listening intently the whole time. "That's wonderful," Ezra said, "so Christmas was a little-known holiday then?"

He thought for a moment. "I guess you could say that...it was only around a few hundred years since it became a holiday celebrated throughout the world, or at least in most parts. Ultimately, Christmas is all about love and the spirit of giving."

"Ah, so even gift-giving was part of the tradition!"

"Yeah; that's probably the reason it became so popular. But the more sublime meaning is of an unconditional giving of one's all for all fellowmen. Will there be...?"

Meia interrupted him. "You said 'fellowmen'. Weren't, uh, women included?" she asked. Even Ezra gave him an inquiring look.

Jai looked mildly amused at her pointing that out. "It's an expression. The term 'fellowmen' refers to all people, all humans."

"I see..." both Mejale said at the same time.

He explained further. "The use of masculine terms, or those regularly referring to men, could also usually refer to both genders. The widely-held culture of until a few hundred or so years ago was predominantly patriarchal, meaning the men, or Tarak as they are called now, were usually held in higher regard."

"Really?!" Again, both at the same time.

"Well, that's right, in most places, at least. But that, ridiculous as I see it, belief gradually receded, and in my modern culture, at least the one I grew up in, both men and women are equals." Jai finished, supposing that they might not appreciate an explanation of the lower status of females in the not-too-distant cultures.

The entrance to the bridge, now right in front of them, seemingly appeared out of nowhere...or perhaps everyone's attention was so held that nobody noticed until then.

--------------------

"And that concludes our celebration of this Christmas holiday! In lieu of all the hard work you've all done, the decorations will not be taken down for another few days. Now everybody enjoy!"

It was probably Magno's announcement of postponing the work of cleaning-up that drew the most cheers from the pirate crew.

For the most part, the 'Christmas celebration' was, Jai mused, similar to the most popular way celebrated even in his own time: plenty of food, enjoyment, and the traditional giving of gifts. Being the very unusual guest and now-friend of the Mejale, he received the most gifts among all; more than those even Magno received. Though initially at a loss himself as to what to give, the figurines in 'his' safe-pod served the purpose amply. Promises of future piano performances every now and then also helped.

The Tarak were also included in the festivities, and Hibiki almost looked like he was actually enjoying himself even while being dragged around by Dita; Bart managed to drink himself into a tipsy, clumsy, boisterous mess, which he would most definitely regret later on; and Duero...seemed to spend most, if not all, of his time with Parfet in a rather secluded spot of the ship's indoor park.

As for himself, Jai more or less mingled with everybody...or rather everybody took the opportunity to mingle with him. Most of the time, he was swamped with company, engaged in idle chatter, or telling stories of 'times long past'. Some even took the opportunity, or perhaps had the nerve, to consult him regarding health matters.

Apart from an inconsequential feeling of being constantly watched that lingered in the back of his mind, he rather enjoyed the gathering, and was glad that some things lived on through the centuries.

--------------------

Jai was relieved when the number of people in his immediate vicinity dwindled – that was, after the whole crew had at least had a word with him. It was already very late, and a lot of them had already gone to sleep – some even right along the corridors.

_'Is it okay to just leave them like this...?'_ Jai wondered then shrugged. There shouldn't be any problem...it kind of reminded him of parties way back when.

He returned to his room feeling only a little drowsy, yet not wanting to sleep just yet – a habit formed by many interns working 36-hour shifts at the hospital.

_'Perhaps a little guitar for now...' _He thought idly. Sitting at the bed, he removed the instrument from its velvet casing and plucked a few tentative notes.

_'Could've brought this to the party...'_ he pondered, _'...but then I'd be the center of attention again...it's kind of tiring...'_ He shook his head and sighed, smiling wryly.

He was tuning the strings when the door swooshed open. By now, he was used to it enough not to be distracted and need to look up from what he was absorbed in; though he did wonder who could be visiting at this time. He did have an idea, though...

"Good evening, Miss Meia. Please, make yourself comfortable..."

Her footsteps stopped for a moment, then continued approaching until the blue-haired captain was seated on the opposite side of the bed.

"Another...musical instrument?" She observed. "Haven't seen you use it before."

"It's my guitar. Haven't brought it out since I got here, I guess," he said, strumming a few chords, "and I'm better at this than the piano."

He then looked up, at her. She was very different, in a way...as if all the tension she always had bottled up inside her was let go, at least for now. She looked more relaxed than he'd ever seen her before.

"Mhmm..." she simply replied. Even her speech was different.

Jai considered it a welcome change.

"And, well, since it is Christmas, how about a few carols..." Jai said.

He then began a soothing rendition of several popular Christmas songs in succession, even singing along most of them. Meia sat and listened to the performance.

--------------------

_'This is very relaxing...'_ Meia sighed. She had quite a lot to drink during the party – mostly trying to look inconspicuous while observing Jai the whole time – and was feeling only a little giddy despite her high tolerance for alcohol. Although in the end she had curiously forgotten why she was then keeping such a close watch on him in the first place.

Suddenly it was an effort to stay upright. She leaned backwards, and found herself lying down on the fluffy bed.

_'Must've had a little too much...'_ she rationalized in her head, though did nothing except close her eyes. The soft music was like velvet caressing her entire being, and soon she was drifting off into slumber.

Her last thought before finally dozing off was _'Jai wasn't kidding when he said he's better at this than the piano...'_

She was unaware of the hands that adjusted her to a more comfortable position and draped a blanket over her, and of the voice that bid her sweet dreams and a merry Christmas.

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**A/N: **Hopefully next update won't take too long...thanks everyone!


	15. Set to Music

**A/N: **Been less than the usual time it takes for me to upload, I guess...

**Knives91** - Thanks. I've got less school now, but more work I guess. Still, I think I'll be more active in writing.  
**godofmadness43** - I kind of wonder about that too...thanks for the review.  
**Vader23A** - Well, I'm not exactly a master of subtlety...thanks for liking the story!

Good news. I resolve to finish this fic within this year! Jai here's 23 years old, and I'd thought this fic would be done by the time I was that age. Haha! Belated happy 5th birthday to this fic too. LOL.

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**CHAPTER 14**

Set to Music

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The holiday festivities were over too soon for Dita, it seemed, even if they were already over for two days.

"But Mister Alien hasn't given me a proper Christmas present yet!" she complained. She and Hibiki were idling at one of the park benches with Jai, Parfet, Meia and Ezra.

"Idiot!" The Tarak mechanic shot back, "And what sort of present were you expecting?!"

"What present did you give her, Hibiki?" Jai asked, curious. Dita and Hibiki were not among those at the party venue by the time things were winding down.

Dita brightened up and answered, "Actually, it was a...mmmph!"

She was interrupted by Hibiki suddenly covering her mouth with one of his hands. "Hahaha! It was nothing! Hey, don't we have stuff to do at the hangar? Come on..." he then literally carried her out of the place.

Everyone else just watched them leave.

"Well, that was interesting..." Jai said at last. He had his guitar and was strumming a few songs. He had just finished a Christmas carol when Dita brought the topic regarding the celebrations up; and thus she ended up being dragged away so Hibiki could save himself from embarrassment.

"I think I have an idea what it was..." Ezra said, not looking surprised. She really DID seem to have an idea of what it was – and by her expression, it was something that seemed very amusing.

Parfet giggled. By the looks of it, she also had some notion, as well as a similar sort of present...probably from Duero or someone, Jai speculated, only half-thinking about the whole thing – he was beginning another song, a slow ballad by a little-known alternative/acoustic band, on guitar.

Meia just shrugged. If she had any idea of what was going on, she didn't show it. The shadow of a contented smile was playing on the corner of her lips, however, as she looked up at the dome overhead.

It was soon after when a NAVI droid drifted into the area...rather wobbly, Jai noticed.

"Pyoro!" Parfet exclaimed, "Are your systems check diagnostics all done?"

The droid shot her a weary look. "Apparently, I just need to wait for the effects of the Hyper-Charge to drain away, and I'll be better..."

Meia and Jai looked at Parfet puzzlingly. Jai voiced out what they were both thinking: "What happened?"

The mechanic answered, "Well, you can say that Pyoro here also had a party during Christmas. Although that Hyper-Charge fluid is taking a long time to clear from your system..." this last she directed to Pyoro. The droid just shrugged in response.

"Come to think of it," Parfet continued, "how come you're out here, and not at the engineering bay?"

"Uh...I thought I'd get some fresh air..." Pyoro replied feebly.

"Excuse me..." Parfet told her human companions. To Pyoro, "You're a DROID! You don't even NEED air!" Parfet then plucked the robot in midair and began trudging off. "I will strap you to the worktable if I need to!"

"NO! It's too booooooring in there! There's absolutely nothing to do! HELP ME!" Pyoro wailed as the two left.

Everyone just watched them leave, much like when Hibiki and Dita left earlier.

"Hmm," Jai said, "seems like everybody's dragging everyone else around today..." He then began playing another song, this time one with a light, pop-sounding, and almost comedic melody.

Several more minutes passed when the PA system announced: "Ezra Vieil, you are requested at the bridge immediately. Repeat..."

Ezra looked puzzled. "I wonder, what could be the problem? Oh well, I'll see you two later." She then got up and left as well.

Jai chuckled. "Seems like even Ezra isn't an exception to what's been going on. Don't you have anything to do right now, Meia?"

"Not really," was her quiet reply. Meia seemed to be enjoying the reprieve from anything strenuous for a while. Jai thought she needed – deserved – the relaxation. He began the next song...something mellow, perhaps.

Even during the opening notes, Meia felt a sudden chill through her spine.

Jai sang. "I see trees of green, red roses too...I see them bloom, for me and you. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world."

Meia's eyes were wide open, looking at some hideous invisible specter in the darkness of the dome above. She was trembling where she sat.

He noticed during the lapse in lyrics, and stopped immediately. "Meia?"

Slowly, she turned her ashen face towards him. "That song..."

Jai replied slowly. "'What a Wonderful World'. It was popular even decades before my own time. Is anything the matter?" Something was definitely bothering her...

Perhaps...the song?

Jai deemed the idea farfetched, if not very, very improbable. How could she remember something that 'ancient'? He asked again, "Meia?"

But almost immediately, Meia stilled her countenance, once more donned her mask. She said sternly, "...it's nothing."

"Are you sure?" Jai supposed he was pushing it a little, but went on anyway. "We could talk about it if..."

"I said it was nothing!" Meia snapped.

He relented. Psychiatric and personal problems were not exactly his forte, even before starting medicine school.

After a while of silence, Meia sighed. She looked about to say something when all of a sudden, alarms flashed throughout the ship.

The PA system blared. "Attention! All crew to battle stations! Dreads prepare to deploy! Meia please report immediately! Repeat..."

The two looked at each other and nodded before dashing out towards the hangar.

Some things could wait for later.

--------------------

"Status report!"

Barnette was the first to her Dread. Others were scrambling to the bridge, the hangar, or the service bay. If all the chaos onboard the Nirvana was any indication, it looked like something really big was afoot.

_'And Christmas just ended besides...'_ she thought glumly while waiting for the reply.

It was Celtic Midori on the other side of the communications link. "Many of the approaching vessels are the same as those we encountered in the last battle...though there are a lot more now, and some new ones as well..." Her voice was clearly tinged with worry.

"Doesn't look good..." Barnette muttered, also anxious.

Someone seemed to be announcing something at the bridge. Midori listened for a while, and then returned to Barnette. "New information! It seems that their mother ship is also here...and it's a big one."

Barnette now did nothing to hide her increasing concern. "Damn it! Do they plan to destroy us now?!"

Another face appeared onscreen. It was Meia. "All Dreads listen up! We will split into two groups: I will lead Squad A with Barnette and join the Black Vanguard of Jai to take out the enemy mother ship; Jura will lead Squad B with Dita and join Hibiki's Gold Vanguard to defend the Nirvana. Is that understood?"

Everybody replied a reasounding, "Yes, captain!"

Barnette started her Dread's thrusters. _'Well, whatever,'_ she thought as she sped off.

--------------------

Jai sat in the Black Vanguard, waiting to take off. Turns out he'd be part of the group that will rush the enemy command ship. It sounded like a suicide mission...what with all the other enemy ships around. He figured he'll just try to do as much damage as he could, while avoiding being shot down.

The 'plan' sounded simple enough. It just also sounded very reckless.

He closed his eyes for a moment to calm himself, and saw in his mind's eye a blue glowing sphere...pulsating ever so slightly.

_'This was...in the engine room...'_ he thought, remembering. _'I'll have to ask Parfet after this is over...'_

He blasted off into the beyond. The darkness of space never ceased to hold him in awe, and he took a moment to wonder at the cosmos around him.

*WHAM*

_'Piece of...my bad...'_ he cursed silently as other laser rounds whizzed past his Vanguard from behind. Quickly, he righted himself and charged, sword easily hacking the couple of enemy drones that sped towards him.

"Whew. There's the huge command ship...and WHOA...!" What he thought were stars in the distance were actually enemy fighters; and to say there were a lot was a grave understatement.

_'Even saying there's a crapload of them is an understatement!'_ Jai felt a mix of sinking hopelessness and invigorating thrill at the situation.

Even as he moved, Dreads were mobilizing at his flank in formation.

Meia appeared onscreen. "Are you all right?"

"Huh? Oh, y-yeah, fine..." he was a little embarrassed at his folly, catching enemy fire in the back first thing out.

She nodded, and then adjusted something on communications. "Everyone concentrate. Our part of the mission is the hardest. Engage any hostiles that come too close, but keep moving towards the mother ship. Find a weak spot and hit hard and fast..."

_'Yeah, with this many fighter drones against us, we'd get overwhelmed in no time,'_ Jai deduced. They were closing in fast with the next wave of enemies.

"...and for those who will need repairs, signal me then return to the Nirvana. That is all." She then closed the communication link.

"...and be careful," Jai added, though only he could hear.

He rushed forward, the platoon of Dreads at his side.

--------------------

Meia's head was pounding, and she hadn't even launched yet.

She had gone over their possible options quickly with the bridge crew, and there was no avoiding a skirmish. The Nirvana was unlikely able to outrun their enemies, and there was no telling how many of them there were, even. The best option was to attack head-on and, with any luck, see a swift end to the battle.

_'Hopefully, the lead ship doesn't have many defenses of its own,'_ Meia pondered.

Jai had just launched. He hovered for a few seconds, and then was hit by a laser shot from behind.

Her initial alarm was supplanted by a slight irritation, _'What the heck is he doing?' _thenwonderment as he cut down two vagrant fighters.

It was her turn, and soon she was out on the battlefield. The first thing she did was link to Jai. "Are you all right?" she asked.

He looked a little awkward. His answer was too. "Huh? Oh, y-yeah, fine..."

She nodded, relieved. Contacting also the other Dreads of Squad A, she repeated their mission objectives and specifics.

When she had closed the link, she heard someone add a comment. "...and be careful."

It was Jai._ 'And that too. Thank you,'_ she thought, as they commenced the charge.

--------------------

Squad A and the Black Vanguard had gone ahead. Though they felled some of the smaller enemy ships in their advance, more were racing towards the Nirvana.

"Damn! They aren't going to go easy on us, aren't they?" Hibiki snorted. In truth, he wanted to lead the charge on the enemy command ship; instead, he was stuck babysitting home base.

He somehow felt he'd been cheated, probably due to the fiendish scheming of the Mejale, preferring the 'wanderer' over the 'true Tarak'.

"And why do I have to stay with you?!" He yelled.

Dita was strangely in high spirits despite their potentially dire situation. "Aw, c'mon Mr. Alien...protecting the Nirvana is also a very important job." It didn't help Hibiki's mood that she always hovered close to him whenever the chance arose.

"Hey, you two! Focus! They're approaching!" Now it was Jura who was shouting.

"Yeah, yeah..." the Tarak pilot mumbled.

Then B.C. appeared onscreen. "Squad B! Your task is paramount to the success of the entire mission. The Nirvana is not without its own shields or armaments, but these alone are not enough against such an amassment of enemies. You must carry out your orders with your all..."

Hibiki let the rest of the speech drone on without even listening. They were probably going to spout about the 'glory of Mejale' or something stupid, and he didn't even want to think of hearing it.

Hibiki looked around. The Squad B ships were more spread out, having to cover more space in defense. He was at the center of the general formation, directly in front of the Nirvana. This was also probably part of the Mejale plan to get rid of him more easily...

"Mister Alien! Here they come!"

The exclamation from Dita woke him from his inner griping so suddenly, he gave a start. But instead of complaining more, he seemed to be instantly fired up. Defense was a more important task, for more capable hands. He was at the center of the formation because he was the cornerstone of the whole operation.

"Yeah! They're going down!"

The part of him that wanted to shout that line against the Mejale died down within him...for now.

And the battle began. Hibiki wasn't really paying attention to anything else, save the battle drones that were unfortunate enough to get too close to him. He slashed and sliced, thrust and smashed, even kicked and punched, and enemies were exploding left and right.

He was, as he put it, on a roll.

Hibiki finally surveyed the battlefield, and his elation was suddenly gone. Every wave of enemies they felled only brought two more, and even more were still approaching. In several places, Dreads were ganged-up on and severely damaged. Their numbers were slowly declining, while the enemies' were increasing at a faster rate.

"They really aren't going easy..." he grumbled, only partly blaming the Mejale for their slowly collapsing defense of the ship.

"Mister Alien!"

He whipped his Vanguard around. There, being chased by twelve or so enemy fighters, was Dita. She was being shot at, and was slowly falling behind.

"Idiot! How did you get separated from formation?!" As he spoke, be was already speeding towards her.

"I'm sorry! They're just too much to...AAAH!" A beam connected with her right thruster, and her Dread was starting to corkscrew dangerously.

_'Almost there...'_ Hibiki mentally willed his buddy to fly even faster. _'I will make it in time!'_

"Come on!" He didn't even notice the part of him that was asking why he was even trying so hard for just this one Mejale in particular; all he was aware of was that he should make it in time...or else.

He also didn't notice at first that he was closing his eyes, tightly.

When he did realize, and opened them, he saw Dita spiraling directly towards him. It was too late to avoid a collision.

He opted not to look, and was sure she did the same. They both screamed, bracing for impact.

Only, there was none. A bright light filled their surroundings. The sensation was almost bizarre; everything around seemed to be shifting in different directions, but no crash.

Hibiki stopped shouting, but was too afraid to look.

Then he noticed something soft was pressed in front of him all of a sudden. He did venture a peek then...

...and was more than surprised to find Dita sitting right in front of him. She appeared to be unconscious.

That didn't stop him from yelling. "What the heck is this?!"

--------------------

The clash near the Nirvana was fierce, the Dreads (and Vanguard) outnumbered more than ten to one. At the same time, Bart was frantically trying to maneuver, or rather try to avoid getting hit.

"However..." Parfet mumbled, observing the battle from the bridge.

"However?" Magno repeated.

"These enemies don't seem to be trying to analyze our attack patterns. I mean, they're the same types, but these are just attacking like normal, I guess..." the mechanic replied.

"I DON'T CARE! Their lasers still HURT!" Bart exclaimed painfully from his control station.

Magno was only a little irked, and mostly amused at that last comment. "Are you a coward, or what? Don't let a little sting get you all worked up!" To Parfet, she said in a more serious tone, "That does seem to be the case. Maybe they're thinking sheer numbers could overwhelm us that easily?"

"I hope not..." Parfet did little to hide her concern.

The battle outside raged on, moments seeming to go on for hours. Little by little, the Dread forces were thinning, sustaining more casualties. Gascogne's support crew was an immense help, but still didn't seem enough.

"At this rate..." B.C. started worriedly, when a distress call came from the engine room.

"Status!" Parfet immediately answered. The image was projected to the whole bridge.

"Boss..." The woman at the other end was trembling. "We're not really sure what's happening, but the pexis..."

"What's happening with the pexis pragma?!" Parfet suddenly wished she was at the site as they all saw the entire background area of the engine room glowing blue.

And at the same time, another glow was radiating from somewhere outside on the battlefield.

Ezra was the first to see it, and all she could say was, "Oh my...!"

--------------------

Another major skirmish was taking place on the other side of the battlefield. Though far in distance, it was not very different in terms of what was generally happening from the encounter close to the Nirvana.

"Leader! I'm sorry, I've sustained too much damage," a Dread pilot reported.

"Understood. Avoid all combat on the way back," Meia replied just a little tersely. _'That's the fifth one...'_ she sighed. Somehow a strong feeling of exhaustion suddenly washed over her. She would have closed her eyes in weariness, but would not allow herself to, with all the frantic fighting around.

Majority of the enemy forces headed for the Nirvana, and were probably facing the defensive battery there, but still a substantial number of fighters remained – a lot more than Meia had expected, at least.

_'That doesn't change our objective...we'll have to punch a hole straight ahead...' _

Though Jai was the center of the formation, and she only the first wing, Meia was still in charge of the unit. She led the slowly-decreasing pack of Dreads and Vanguard past barrages of enemies towards the command ship, which now seemed all the more menacing, not to mention huge.

Immediately, Squad A let loose with whatever firepower they had, peppering the hulking vessel from starboard to port with lasers and missiles, and even slashes from Jai's blade, all the while avoiding hostile fire.

Meia was struggling not to collapse in her seat. She was having trouble breathing, and the controls of her Dread were heavy in her hands.

Her heart further sank when all their attacks seemed to do absolutely nothing to their target.

_'What's going on...?'_

Jai appeared onscreen. "Meia!" His expression was suddenly fraught with worry. "Are you okay?" His Vanguard was some ways away.

"I-I'm fine...it's just..."

From the corner of her eye, something bright exploded. It was dangerously close to the Nirvana.

_'What...?!'_

"Look out!"

She was turning to see what had happened, when Jai rushed towards her and blocked a careening missile with his blade. The impact sent him hurtling right for her Dread.

Even then, she was only half-aware of the scene in front of her. Part of her was still pondering the flash of light near the Nirvana.

Meia then finally closed her eyes, from sheer fatigue. She had a vague notion that something was supposed to happen to her...but it wasn't happening – like falling but never hitting the ground. Instead, a white glow seemed to surround her for a moment; and then she was aware of a presence right in front of her.

Firm hands shook her gently, feeling her head and neck. "Meia, are you okay?"

The voice sounded like Jai. _'Why are you here?'_ she wanted to ask, but she said, "Where am I?"

She opened her eyes to see him, sitting close directly in front of her. "It looks like you have a fever." He paused and looked around. "As for your question, that's...something I'd also like to know..."

--------------------

**A/N:** Lots of POV changes in here...which I don't consider a bad thing, really. It turns out like an episode in the series, I think. At least this one isn't filler material.

Cliffhanger! I don't know how long the next chapter will take, since I'm still working on how certain details will work out...or at least how they will look like. Haha.


	16. Fusion

**A/N:** Okay; I guess this chapter might get a little confusing without prior instructions: for the parts focusing on Meia and Jai,

_'this'_ = Meia, and

"this" = Jai.

You'll understand when you read it. Or when you re-read it, probably.

**Mistra Rose** - Thank you very much! I just hope you won't get mad at me after reading this chapter.  
**Skillfulist** - Two chapters in one month means I'm writing at the speed of light. Thanks.

And a many thanks to all those who fave/alert this story.

This one's a rather long chapter. Enjoy!

--------------------

**CHAPTER 15**

Fusion

--------------------

Meia shook her head. _'A fever?'_ No wonder she wasn't feeling well – she really wasn't well.

"Yes, and don't make me repeat myself. In any case, something must've happened to our ships," Jai said. Meia then noticed he was kneeling in front of her, not sitting, when he got up and moved to the seat adjacent to her right.

_'Something like...fused together?'_ There seemed no other way to put it.

"There does seem to be no other logical explanation, other than your Dread and my Vanguard did fuse," Jai said, echoing her thoughts. Meia just shrugged.

She had a wide field of vision, 180-degrees, of the space ahead, much different from in her own Dread. Jai was seated so close to her, their whole arms were touching. Her right hand rested on half of a glowing green sphere; his left hand was on the other half.

_'What could this be?'_ she wondered.

"This must be the control mechanism, or something..." Jai said. He was probably thinking the same thing. Other than the chairs and the sphere, nothing else was in the vicinity.

_'But how can we possibly control this thing?'_ she thought to herself.

To her surprise, Jai answered her. "I don't know...maybe we just..."

_'Wait, how did you hear that?'_ Meia said out loud.

"You were talking, all this time," Jai replied simply.

_'I was not!'_

"You most definitely were. I could hear you, that's why." After a pause, he said, "She must be really tired..."

_'You could address me properly when you talk, thank you very much, and I am not hallucinating.'_

"You heard that last part?"

_'Still think I'm only imagining things?'_

"Well, touché. It seems that I can hear your thoughts, and you can hear mine."

Both were silent for a while. It was only five seconds since Jai took his seat beside Meia; their entire exchange lasted for only that much time.

Then the side of the enemy mother ship floated into view – dangerously close.

"Whoa!"Jai, for one, was caught by surprise. The Dread/Vanguard shifted backwards and let loose laser blasts from three different ports.

_'What are you doing?!'_ Meia shouted. Their craft then veered upwards, launching missiles in all directions.

"What are YOU doing?!" Jai shouted back. They surged forward, coincidentally dodging enemy fire in the process.

The atmosphere was, to put it simply, chaotic. Barrages of conflicting ideas and judgments passed between them without words, and so quickly that they didn't know which thought was whose exactly. It was as if they were fighting each other for control, Jai wanting to do one thing, and Meia wanting another.

Amidst their mental dueling, Meia noticed out of the corner of her eye that the sphere had changed color – it was now a deep red.

Then all of a sudden, Barnette appeared onscreen. "What the heck are you doing...together?" her pause was momentary, but significant. The expression on her face was the most telling, however, changing from furious to almost dumbstruck.

_'I wish I knew...'_ Meia grumbled, needing to reassure herself that she HAD said that out loud. The fusion ship had stopped moving.

"Something happened with our ships, Barnette," Jai explained; truth to tell, even he wasn't sure what exactly 'happened'.

The other Dread pilot 'hmpf'ed. "Well, that much is apparent. It looks like a larger version of your Vanguard." Considering the circumstances, she didn't look very impressed.

"Really?" _'Really?'_ Both pilots exclaimed at the same time.

"Status!" Jai commanded. A holographic image of their vessel showed up and, true enough, looked enough like a Vanguard, though not exactly like that of Jai: it was about twice as big, had silver plating covering its limbs and trunk, and wielded what seemed to be a lance and a shield – not to mention other laser and missile weaponry within its frame – instead of just the one steel blade.

"That's awesome," Jai said. Meia pretty much felt the same.

"Now if you would please get serious!" Barnette was having a harder time dodging enemy fire. The fighting had lulled somewhat after they had transformed, but was picking up again. Stray laser beams reminded them they were in the field of battle.

_'We'll do our best. Hang in there,'_ Meia said, more of an assurance than a command.

Barnette nodded, and then closed the link.

Jai took a deep breath. "All right; we'll have to work together to get this thing to work properly. This sphere is our only means of controlling the ship, and it seems to respond to just our thoughts. We have to coordinate even our very thinking."

_'Agreed.' _Meia nodded.

"And Meia..."

_'What?'_

"Don't overwork yourself." His thoughts were full of concern.

_'Huh?'_

"I could feel your fever getting worse. When we get back to the Nirvana, it's straight to bed for you, understand?"

Meia frowned. _'He dares order me like that!'_

"I heard that...or have you forgotten? I am a doctor, besides." Jai smiled slightly when he saw her visibly stiffen. _'Okay, okay.'_

--------------------

"Hey! Wake up!"

Dita was still out of it, but the battle didn't wait. Hibiki was having trouble moving the craft with her in the way...on his lap. Personally, he found her touch to be not that unpleasant – somewhat a surprise, actually – and he probably would have sat still quite contentedly given the scenario at some other time, but the present situation called for action.

"Idiot! This is no time to sleep! Get your lazy ass up!"

None of his shouting seemed to work, but that didn't deter him from keeping at it. The other Dreads were zipping around, guns blazing, and all he could do was move awkwardly.

A communications link popped up; it was Magno. "And what have we here?"

"Hey, hag! Something happened with my Vanguard and her Dread!"

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that remark," the pirate Boss muttered.

In the background, Parfet waved. "Hibiki! Are you and Dita all right?"

Hibiki replied after making an annoyed sound. "The alien-crazy girl here is fast asleep, and I'm still learning how to control this thing exactly."

"Well, you should be more accustomed to it, since it looks more like your Vanguard than it does her Dread," the mechanic said.

Hibiki looked around. _'Oh yeah...'_

Parfet continued. "In any case, try to get your bearings. It seems that your specs are vastly improved; it'd be a waste to just float there...not to mention there are more enemies on the way. We have much to discuss later." Then, the link was closed.

_'Now she tells me...'_ Hibiki thought glumly.

True enough, more enemies swarmed in. He was able to locate the weapons controls and learn to better steer this new vessel, but was still having problems with Dita sitting on him.

"Darn! If you would just wake up!"

More and more blasts and careening fighters blew by. Frustration gnarled at Hibiki; there was something missing, something that was supposed to make everything all right and running smoothly.

"Come on! Wake up! Dita!"

Almost instantly, her eyes opened and she was looking at him.

His face colored in anger and embarrassment. But...what was there for him to be embarrassed about? "Y-you were awake all this time?!"

She giggled. "You know, that was the first time you said my name."

"What?!"

"Now let's go, Mister Alien! I'm not exactly sure what happened, but now that you're with me here, I feel all better!"

_'The first time...?'_ Hibiki was more than a little distracted by her words.

Jura appeared on communications. "I got the info from Nirvana! Don't mess up, you two nitwits! Your ship may be cool and all, but it's useless if..."

That woke him up. "Yeah, yeah! And I am NOT a nitwit!" Angrily closing the link, he nodded to Dita. She nodded back, and they both sped forward in attack.

The battle seemed to go much smoother; the rise in power and speed was that much more apparent now, perhaps because they were both up and working together?

And it also seemed that he was getting more accustomed to having Dita in the same seat.

The fighting was reaching a fever pitch. Even then, the mission of defense was easier than any time prior.

"Let's see how you like this!" Hibiki shouted. The twin boosters at the craft's back aligned to form a giant beam weapon. The resulting blast from the cannon decimated whatever was in its path – in this case, more than an entire platoon of enemy fighters.

"I-I didn't know we could do that!" Dita exclaimed.

_'I'm shocked too...'_ Hibiki thought, mouth wide open in disbelief.

Even Parfet was excited enough to need to contact them. "What was that?! That was amazing!!!"

"Hey; something's happening," Hibiki said.

In the distance, tangent from where they had just fired the huge beam, there was an explosion so huge that even that far, the resulting shockwave was more than noticeable.

"That's...the enemy command ship," Parfet reported almost incredulously.

Dita brightened almost right away. "Then Leader and the rest must have won too!"

Parfet was openly smiling. "I think yeah."

The enemy ships all just...stopped, as if whatever had been controlling them was simply cut off. The surrounding space was littered with floating metal and whatever else they were made of.

"Let's go back," Hibiki said.

"Wait!" Parfet had one more thing to say. "Let's get one of those fighters for analysis. We might learn something of importance."

--------------------

Even right after turning off the communications link, Barnette had to immediately focus on the fighting, which had gotten all the more frenzied after a short respite.

That didn't bother her as much, however, as the fact that they weren't still able to damage the enemy command ship whatsoever, no matter what attacks they tried thus far.

_'I'll have to admit, this is as irritating as fighting the Tarak,'_ she thought. Then again, it didn't take all that much to irritate Barnette.

Her Dread now joined in formation with four others, the last few of Squad A remaining on the field. Barnette had earlier been contacted by them, asking about the strange vessel that looked like a Vanguard, and what had happened to Meia and Jai.

She addressed them now. "Listen up! It seems like their crafts did fuse into that one. How, don't ask me. I don't know. Meia is going to come up with something; we just have to keep trying a bit more," her pride made her keep to herself the silent hope that the new Vanguard could turn the tide of battle; the others probably also had the same notion.

More enemy fighters fell as the battle dragged on, which seemed to matter little since there were so many of them still. Even more importantly, the Dreads had yet to even scratch the enemy mother ship. The five broke from formation and scattered, waiting to regroup and try again.

But they couldn't take much more of what was happening. _'Come on, Meia! Jai!'_ Barnette silently urged as another Dread was taken out of the fight.

All of a sudden, a column of white light streaked through the dark space ahead. From her vantage some ways from the side of the enemy command ship, Barnette watched in bewilderment as it passed cleanly through the hull of the hulking vessel, entering directly in front of, and exiting directly behind, it.

_'What...was that?'_

The front end of the column slowed; and as the light disappeared altogether, the fused Dread/Vanguard came into view.

"So it was them..." Barnette sighed in relief. She was right to have faith in their captain.

The mother ship was still for a moment before erupting in flames and explosions.

"...but still, with only one hit..." she mumbled. That it happened this way was a little incomprehensible, even if she had seen it with her own eyes.

"...what fearsome power."

Now that the command ship was in ruins, the smaller fighters were little more than useless pieces of debris, floating aimlessly.

Communication screens came up from the other pilots who remained. "Vice-captain! They did it!" They screamed, ecstatic.

"Looks like," Barnette replied similarly, if only a little subdued.

Their elation was short-lived, as they saw their savior vessel speeding away; Jai appeared onscreen, and his voice held pure panic. "Everyone! We return to Nirvana at once! Meia is severely injured!"

They followed instantaneously.

--------------------

Everything was moving at the speed of thought.

Understandably, since they were using their thoughts to control the ship.

_'Synchronization is more difficult than I thought,'_ Meia complained.

Jai agreed. "You can say that again."

_'Synchronization is more difficult than I thought,'_ Meia repeated, with a hint of amusement.

"Haha. Still, I still can't believe we're...whoa!...actually maneuvering like this and joking around at the same time."

Their Dread-Vanguard ship moved fairly smoothly through the swarms of enemy fighters, downing every one it passed with a projectile or a masterful stab or swing of the lance. Though now and then a stray missile or laser beam shot off somewhere totally unintended, it seemed like both pilots were managing well enough to be successful overall.

In the back of her mind, Meia was observing the sphere that served as their means of control. Every so often, it would shift color, from green, to blue, then green again, then yellow, then back to green, and then blue, and so on.

"Yeah, it seems to alternate between the three colors. What do you suppose it indicates?"

_'I'm not sure, but it looks like a gauge of how much we're in sync.'_ Meia shrugged.

Jai nodded thoughtfully.

_'Now what about that command ship...?'_

Neither of them noticed a proximity bomb from one of the enemy minefielder ships approaching quickly on their right.

*BOOM*

Almost immediately, an intense pain stabbed at her right arm. _'OUCH! What the...?'_

"Somehow, that boom sounded almost comical," Jai wondered dazedly. His left hand had left the control sphere, and was clutching his right arm.

_'Damage to the ship also hurts us?!' _Meia tried to think straight, but she was almost in a panic. Her fever didn't help. She then noticed the sphere, which was now a deep black.

Looking forward again, she found herself staring at an incoming missile.

Too close to dodge in time.

Still, their ship was able to veer ever so slightly to the left before impact, so that only the right side of the face was hit.

Meia blacked out instantly.

The violent shaking due to the strike rocked Jai back aware. "Damn! That was..." His thoughts trailed off as he turned to Meia. She was slumped in her seat, bleeding badly from the head and clearly unconscious.

"H-how...? Why am I not...?!" Jai saw that she was still holding onto the sphere.

"So we're only hurt while touching the sphere?" He thought in a quick moment of calm clarity before his wits finally left him in a state of terror. He quickly removed Meia's hand, and placed his own hand back atop the device.

He had to move. Fast.

His next target was the mother ship, straight ahead, facing him, mocking him.

Driven by pure adrenaline, he squared the lance in one hand, and prepared for a full-speed charge. Maybe he wasn't thinking very clearly as well by this point; he had no idea if the tactic was even going to work.

Still, something had to be done. Now.

The shield was poised in defense, and the lance pointed forward. Oddly, he was reminded of the Spartans in '300', a graphic novel he had read before.

"Pretty much sums us up right now..." He grinned sardonically; a handful of Dreads against a veritable army.

Acceleration wasn't gradual, it was immediate – Jai closed his eyes for a second, and it was over. He could feel the deceleration, though.

He also felt the shockwave from the mother ship exploding behind him. Absently, he wondered whether he was going to get burns on his back because of the heat.

"Apparently not," as the blast died down. He sighed, glad that it was over, but anxious for his companion. He quickly turned his attention to her, and ministered whatever first-aid he could to stop, or at least slow, the bleeding.

"And she has a friggin' FEVER besides!" He snarled. Jai then seated her on his lap leaning against him, and, controlling the ship from her seat, sped back towards the Nirvana. One hand was on the sphere, the other firmly pressed against her wound to control the bleeding, and to assure him that he was at least trying to do something.

Mission accomplished.

But this was no time to celebrate.

He contacted the other Dreads. "Everyone! We return to Nirvana at once! Meia is severely injured!" was all he said before terminating the link. He didn't even check to see if they followed; he was sure they would.

Meia's breathing was labored, she was shivering, still unconscious and losing more blood.

"Just hold on a little...I haven't let any patient down yet..."

Jai was also doing something he'd never done before in all his medical service and training...

He was crying.

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**A/N: **Now** this **is probably the best (or worst, depending on which way you look at it) cliffhanger I've ever done.

Lots of POV changes in this one. And the events don't exactly come one **after** another as they are written; some happen simultaneously.

Oh, and "300" is copyright 1998 Frank Miller and Dark Horse Comics. The movie absolutely ROCKED! I just needed something to better illustrate Jai's stance.


	17. At the Infirmary

**A/N:** FINALLY an update! I suppose this chapter has quite a bit of what's been preoccupying my life recently. Haha. We've got a short break coming up, and I hope to be able to at least do some writing...though I am VERY rusty, I suppose...

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**CHAPTER 16**

At the Infirmary

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* * *

For a sick-bay, it was eerily silent for Jai.

He was slumped in a bedside seat. A bandage was wrapped around his right arm – all the damage he sustained was some severe bruising, due to the impact of the missile on their fusion ship. He considered it nothing compared to the injuries of the person he was currently looking after.

Meia was in critical condition; she was still unconscious, and her vital signs were still unstable. At least the bleeding had stopped.

Every time he looked at her stationary form, hooked-up to a complicated life support machine, he felt like banging his head on a hard surface. Anger and depression flooded him until his mind was full of it, with no room for anything else.

'If I had just been more cautious...it shouldn't have come to this! Just a scrape on the arm, and I let something like this happen...!'

He sighed and leaned back, staring at the ceiling instead, thinking back to what had happened.

Time seemed to slow down in the fusion ship. What seemed to happen in several minutes only took less than one – the speed of thought. And thoughts did drift from Meia to Jai, and from him to her, even without touching the sphere; just their mere presence in the area bared their entire minds to one another, whether they wanted to or not.

It happened then that Jai could sense – see, hear, feel – Meia's thoughts even while she was unconscious, or asleep. She was dreaming.

Dreaming. About her past.

Everything she did remember and dream, he saw in his mind's eye as if he was actually there – as if he was Meia herself sometimes, all her emotions and perceptions. Some events happened continuously, others in short fragments or sequences, but he felt and understood all.

Jai was then briefly reminded of people seeing their lives flashing before their eyes before they die...and he wanted so much to knock on wood.

And that was part of his anguish: she had gone through enough suffering in her time; the situation now was something he could have averted, had he been less inept. Though he had an inkling that she had gone through hard times before, he had little idea that it was that serious – her family, her childhood, her years of drifting through the streets and bad company.

'If only I could have done something more this time. If only I could have helped her. If only...'

He was roused when Meia fidgeted on her bed. Her vital signs showed no drastic changes; at least she was stabilizing a little. Even with little expression and movement, she looked in pain.

Jai knew exactly what was going on. Memories in her dark past were re-playing, over and over, in her head. What he saw of it on the fusion ship probably wasn't everything, but it was enough sorrow for him. He had heard many tragic life stories from the people back in his own time's hospital, but this time was different. This was a person he had come to know and appreciate, who he was close to and considered a dear friend, or maybe family, or maybe even something...more.

Here she was, suffering, and he couldn't do anything about it.

'Some hopeless doctor I am...'

And then a hand tapped him lightly on the back.

* * *

"You're all right." It was more of a statement than a question.

Jai looked up. "Hey, Gascogne..." His speech was slow, dull, and lacked its usual refinement. The older pirate frowned.

"For how long do you plan on moping about something that wasn't really your fault to begin with?" she asked, serious.

Jai remained miserable. After a long while, he spoke, "Like you said, I'm all right. Meia isn't. How can it not be my fault?"

Gascogne shrugged. "This is a war, after all. You think you were the only one fighting? You think she was the only one who was injured?"

Jai snapped. He stood and faced the female pirate with his bloodshot eyes. "You weren't there!" He yelled.

"Hey, keep it down, this is an infirmary after all," Gascogne said levelly, "Everyone was there, if you don't remember."

Jai was still fuming, but spoke in a softer tone. "You weren't in the ship. You didn't see what happened, so you don't understand..."

"I don't understand? What don't I understand, rookie? Losing a friend, a comrade, someone dear to me? Ha! You're one to talk, having been through only one battle."

Slowly, the anger in Jai's eyes subsided. The silence seemed to have more of an effect on him than words, Gascogne thought.

"I...suppose..." Jai whispered, slumping back down on the chair. "I...I'm sorry..."

She punched him lightly on the arm. "Hey; it happens. This is a war, after all. I'm sure we'll get the captain out somehow. She's a real fighter. Now you get some sleep; you'll feel a lot better afterwards." With that, she left.

Jai took one more look at the patient lying on the bed beside. Closing his eyes, he slipped into welcome unconsciousness.

* * *

It was like waking up to a 'code blue' at the emergency room.

First, an alarm and flashing red light right beside him; then, Duero running from his desk, mouthing what sounded like obscenities. Only after a few seconds did Jai fully wake...

...to find that Meia was in ventricular fibrillation.

"Status?" Duero shouted.

"Are you blind? V-fib! Her heart isn't pumping right!" Jai yelled back. "Where's the defibrillator?"

He checked; Meia had no pulse.

Both of them were at bedside. Jai started doing chest compressions, while Duero switched the mechanical ventilator to administer positive-pressure oxygen, and prepared the shock machine.

_'Come on; come on!'_ Jai frantically prayed. Basic life support had to be the same even two thousand years in the future, right?

"Ready..." the Tarak doctor called out.

"Good. Now...what is...?" Jai expected to see the familiar defibrillator paddles, and was slightly surprised to see Duero holding two small probe-like applicators.

"Hurry up and place these on both sides of the heart so we can defibrillate!" Duero urged.

_'I guess it isn't all the same...'_ Jai thought, taking the applicators from the other, and carefully placing them on Meia's chest. There was no time to entertain any stray thoughts now.

"Clear!" And 200 Joules of electricity were delivered to her form. For once, it was almost painful for Jai to watch.

They both looked back at the ECG. No change.

"Crap...one more..." Jai murmured, replacing the applicators. _'Please!'_

"Clear!" Another shock.

Jai was afraid to look up again at the monitor. So all he had to calm his nerves was a steady beeping from the machine.

Duero only confirmed what he already knew. "Cardioversion..."

But it wasn't over yet. Jai quickly returned the probes, and checked Meia's breathing and pulse.

Both were now normal, even better than since she was first placed in the infirmary.

He then arranged Meia's clothing and even her hair, and finally heaved a sigh of relief, surprised that he had been holding his breath for a long time.

And it was only then that both doctors realized that a crowd of female pirates were standing behind them in the infirmary. Some were crying, or wringing their hands, but most just stood in tense anticipation.

Jai looked at them all, and smiled. "She's going to be all right."

Cheers erupted from the crowd, and the crying turned from despair to that of joy.

"Shhhhh!" Duero reprimanded them, though he was smiling as well. "We're in the infirmary."

He then turned to Jai. "For a moment there, I thought you were going to crack. You know what usually happens when doctors treat those closest to them," He shook his hand. "Nice work."

"Yeah, I guess," was the other's reply, "Thanks."

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**A/N:** I'll have to find a way to fix the formatting especially in the previous chapters...wall of text does NOT look pretty. It's been a while, and I suppose updates to this site kinda messed-up the previously-fine formatting.

Thanks to those who took the time to message me about my stories...I WILL finish them sooner or later...


	18. Presence

**A/N:** Wrote this entire chapter in just one sitting. I just hope it turned out okay.

Ah, I love getting these instances of inspiration...though it's been a very long time since the last one.

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**CHAPTER 17**

Presence

* * *

The mood was much lighter, much more cheerful.

Meia had stabilized enough to be removed from life-support. It now was as though she was only sleeping, though it had already been a whole week since the battle.

Still, Jai kept watch on her. All of his spare time was spent at the bedside seat in the infirmary, where he would usually read a book or play music on his guitar.

Sometimes he would notice Meia stir in her sleep and murmur something incomprehensible, and then it would look like she would smile – so slightly that he would be left wondering if he was just imagining it at all.

Even then, it was enough to let him know that the worst was indeed over.

* * *

'Meia'

_"That voice...so familiar..."_

She knew she was supposed to be unconscious, still dreaming, because all that she had been seeing lately were images of her past – visions of horrors and nightmares that have played in her mind over and over again.

This time however, there was a feeling that someone was watching over her from afar but was unable to actually do anything...or maybe she was just imagining it.

Meia supposed she was sleeping.

Unless...she was already dead.

'Meia'

Instead of eternal darkness, she seemed to be drifting in a faint, luminous cloud of aqua blue. There was a feeling of peace, as if everything else was suspended in a single moment while she remained aware.

Surely this wasn't hell...because she had already seen hell.

'Meia Gisborn'

There was that familiar voice again. More of a whisper than anything, and yet she somehow...knew – knew and trusted.

'Why do you continue to run?'

She frowned. _"I do not run."_

'Why do you continue to hide?'

_"I am the leader of the Dread squadron; the captain of the Mejale pirates! I do not hide!"_

There was a minute of silence.

'Why do you continue to lie?'

_"I don't...I mean, everything is fine the way it is now right? There's no need to...what is done is done, right?"_

'...'

_"Besides, not like there's anything that can be done about it anymore...they're both gone."_

Silence once more.

_"Answer me!"_

As if in response, the greenish-bluish haze parted in front of her, to show two silhouettes ahead, holding one another. Both were looking at Meia.

She knew in an instant. _"Mama...papa..."_

Even though it was only their forms that were visible, she knew they were there...somewhere...

...and that it was all right.

And then, they faded from sight.

Tears came unbidden to Meia's eyes, and she was overcome with a great sense of relief.

Even then, she unexpectedly heard herself say, _"No! That's just an illusion! I will not believe it! They are both GONE!"_

All of a sudden, it was as though her consciousness was split in two – one part that felt at peace, and another that fought back. Meia knew that what she had just seen was more than an illusion; more like a vision, or perhaps a glimpse into another realm, but one that was as real as Mejale itself.

Why part of her did not want to see, she did not know.

Or perhaps she did...

Meia willed her entire being to stillness, which was no easy task - years of resentment and despair could not be quelled in an instant. Again, she became aware of a protective aura, a presence she could entrust everything to.

After a while – she could not tell whether it had been a few seconds, or a million – she was perfectly tranquil.

'What is done is done.'

Then she realized that she had not been breathing, and she could not draw in air. And now, instead of floating, she was plummeting downwards.

Despite her perilous condition, she did not panic. She COULD not panic. The miasma of blue swirled around her dizzyingly as she fell.

Meia closed her eyes.

And it felt like she suddenly just...stopped.

Slowly, she opened her eyes again. Meia instantly recognized the comforting presence she felt before while in dreaming, and she was greeted by the sound of a guitar playing beside her...

* * *

"I want to hear 'What a Wonderful World'."

Though outwardly composed, Jai's heart leaped to his throat. Sure, he had been expecting Meia to wake up at any time, but even then...

"W-what?" He stammered, the huge grin on his face doing nothing to contain his elation.

"'What a Wonderful World'...could you play that?" Meia was smiling as well.

"Sure."

He then started the song. Everything else could wait.


End file.
